My daughter turns 4 in two days. Each year for these last 4 years I become more pensive and even more thankful around this time of year. You see, it’s July, my daughter was due the end of September. She was born a full 9 weeks before her actual due date. I went from what was probably the easiest pregnancy to getting preeclampsia. An illness that can only be solved when the baby is delivered.
That Saturday, four years ago, I was invited to a party. It was in our friends home and only about 5 minutes driving, so while I wasn’t feeling great, it was fine to go. They moved the location of the party that day to another friend’s home, about 10 minutes away. I was a little annoyed as I wasn’t feeling that great, but oh well. I was still going. During that day, I’d been texting my friend updating her of my symptoms. I was sick that day for the first time in my pregnancy at 30 weeks. When I got to her home, she took one look at me and asked if I was still headachy. I was, I hadn’t taken the medicine yet. Did I forget to mention that this friend was an ob-gyn where the party was moved to? She took out her doc bag, which happened to be at her home, confirmed what she thought, high blood pressure. She made me take my Tylenol and I wasn’t allowed to move until my headache went away and my blood pressure went down. Isn’t God amazing? What I thought was an annoyance, turned out to be God in his infinite wisdom knowing that she would need access to her medical kit, that she wouldn’t have had otherwise.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago, and I was having a conversation with her. She said she’d been extremely busy and had been called in to do a procedure for a woman who’s baby was in grave danger. I told her that she was a hero. She laughed as she’s already a very humble person, and she commented that she’d never been called that before. I told her that every day she went to work she was a hero for someone, she saves women and babies all the time, including me and my baby. I probably wouldn’t have gone to the hospital as soon as I did, had she not said something. She later told me that she took one look at me and knew that I was sick and told me I needed to go back to my doctor. As soon as I went in, they sent me to the hospital and confirmed what she already knew – preeclampsia.
My daughter recently told me that I was her hero, because I saved her from monsters.
Sometimes we are in places and situations that we don’t realize the impact we have on others. It doesn’t matter what your profession or trade is, it is the way we go about doing our respective roles that make us every day heroes. And it can be just by sharing a kind word or a smile, or valuable advice.
Dear Heavenly Father, while I may not recognize the importance of the role I have, help me to understand the importance of kindness to others as I never know the battles that the people we come into contact are going through. Help me to always season my words with your love, and to do each task I’m given with a cheery attitude, even when I’m not feeling it.
