Miracle Birth

With all the medical advances at our disposal in modern society, it’s easy to lose sight of giving birth as a miracle of life. Women do it every day–in hospitals aided by starched personnel or squatting i n a hut in some forgotten Third-World country. Births are common occurrences

Yet, when my husband and I were expecting our first baby, we prepared. The doctor discovered my pregnancy during an unrelated appointment one afternoon, and kept advancing the date as he saw the baby’s progress. In reality, we had about six months to get ready for the change of our lives.

Still, the most important part of getting ready was asking God to help us be parents. Neither of us had ones we cared to emulate, so we were a blank slate. “Please, Lord, make us adequate to raise a child. You know our misgivings, but we trust You for all the love and wisdom we’ll need.” God answered that prayer, as we gave those gifts back to Him.

Manoah and his wife gave birth to their special son in the midst of less than ideal surroundings. They were captives of the Philistines when the angel visited them with surprising news. How they responded to their miracle baby had far-reaching consequences for a nation in crisis.