“I walked into the clinic nervous and tense. At age 46, with one daughter in college, two sons in high school, and two sons in grade school, I needed to have my suspicions confirmed. Yes, I was pregnant.
But telling my husband and the children was even more difficult. “It is embarrassing,” said one of the older kids. “Where are we going to put another child?” my husband wondered. Soon I even had to stop doing my part time job – thus losing our family’s 14-year source of supplemental income.
Telling my friends and neighbours did not bring smiles or congratulations. One woman my age told me that she would rather be dead than pregnant again. One of my brothers said, “If you keep having children, you would end up with a Down Syndrome child.” An in-law wrote a blistering email.
I became discouraged and listless. To avoid meeting friends, I started grocery shopping in the evening. Then, one night, as I was pushing a well filled grocery cart, a cheerful voice rang out. “Hello Katherine!” a woman greeted me. “I am so happy for you.”
I could hardly believe my ears. She had, I knew, had several miscarriages and had almost lost her life having a child several years back. Her words rang in my ears. A spirit of great joy filled me. I became myself again.
Months later we were blessed with a beautiful girl. And the Lord supplied me with the energy to see her through her First Holy Communion, Confirmation, graduation and marriage. Today she has a fine husband, three lively children and a college degree.
The sixth child has been a gift to the whole family and to everyone who knows her. I bless the woman who gave me new hope to accept God’s loving plan,” concludes Katherine Karras.
When confronted with a Goliath size problem, you can respond by saying “He is too big to hit” or like David, you can say, “He is too big to miss!”
A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage. As you can imagine, the child was the apple of their eyes. He was everything for them. When the boy was two, the husband noticed a medicine bottle open on the kitchen table and as he was late going to work, he reminded his wife to cap the bottle and put it in the medicine chest. His wife was busy cleaning and she totally forgot about it. The boy playfully went to the medicine bottle and drank it all.
Regrettably it was an extremely lethal medicine for infants. The mother rushed her son to hospital but it was too late. The child was pronounced death on arrival. Obviously she was overwhelmed with shock and besides she was terrified at facing her husband.
However when the husband came, his reaction was disbelief but even if his eyes were full of tears, he just hugged and hugged his wife. His only words were, “I love you darling”. He realized that she also had lost her only child and what she needed was consolation and sympathy. No point in finding fault with his wife. He realized he can never bring him back to life.
Contentment is not getting what we want but being satisfied with what we have.