Miracles Still Happen: A Miracle of Birth

CONTRIBUTED BY LANE FISHER

   It was 1949 and William and Opal Fisher had the perfect family…two boys and a girl.  They weren’t planning on adding to their happy little family of five.  However, that year proved to be the most difficult of their lives.  Their daughter, who was only three years old, was a healthy looking child one week and literally skin and bones the next.  It turns out, cancer had been ravaging her little body and, tragically, she quickly succumbed to the disease. 
   The family was devastated, but Opal, in particular, was especially grieved and heartbroken.  She cried out to the God whom she’d served for most of her life, and He heard her and answered her heart’s cry.   She knew that the precious child she’d lost could not be replaced, but she longed for another daughter.  She was crying in her bedroom one day, and she heard the Lord say [in an audible voice] that He was going to give her another daughter.  She dried her eyes and went on about her life, convinced He would do as He promised.
   In the meantime, Opal was having health issues, and her doctor kept telling her she needed a hysterectomy.  It seemed that she had tumors in her uterus.  She kept telling the doctor that God had promised her another daughter, and so, thanks, but no thanks to the offer of surgery.
   Nearly a year passed, and then Opal became pregnant.  She was ecstatic and thought, “The Lord is answering my prayer for a daughter and is keeping His promise to me.”   She eagerly awaited the birth of the child, and in due time, it was delivered.  To her great disappointment, she gave birth to a boy.  Oh, she loved him dearly, but she couldn’t help but be disappointed.  All the while, she still needed the surgery, and her doctor was trying to talk her into having it.
   Four more years passed with no daughter in sight, but Opal still believed God and trusted Him to keep His promise.  She discovered she was pregnant again and thought, “This time my daughter will be given to me.”  But, alas, another little boy was born.  This made four boys, with no girl in sight.
   Time marched on, and Opal’s health kept deteriorating.  Still, she held fast to God’s promise.  However, the tumors were causing great pain and discomfort, as well as other problems. So after ten long years, she finally agreed to let the doctor do the surgery.  She told her physician that she didn’t know how God was going to keep His promise to her for a daughter, but she knew He would somehow. 
   The doctor wouldn’t even let her go home to pack her bag.  He admitted her straight into the hospital that afternoon. 
   The next morning, he wheeled a still hopeful and trusting Opal into the operating room.  He prepped her for the surgery and made the first incision.  He immediately saw that she was pregnant and sewed her back up. 
   Nine months later, her baby girl was born.
   I was that baby girl.
   I never tired of hearing the story of my birth.  There was such promise, and it was a great miracle. But, when you stop to consider it, every birth is a miracle and a promise from our loving God.  Life is precious and oh so sweet when we trust and lean on Him…as my mother, Opal Fisher, did.



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