Prologue

 Turning Our Faces to the Wall

 

In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death.  And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amon, went to him and said, “Thus says the Lord:  Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.”

Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying, “Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight.”  And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

2 Kings 20:1-2

 

Prologue

 

I remember when Micah and I found out that I was pregnant with our first child.  My cousin was getting married to one of my close friends.  We were all at the church for the wedding rehearsal on a hot August evening in Nampa, Idaho.  It felt like it was taking forever to get into our places and figure out where everyone was suppose to stand.  I was midway down the steps, watching as everyone was laughing and joking, when all of the sudden I felt lightheaded and sick to my stomach.

I tried to continue to stand, thinking it was just the heat, but I knew I needed to sit down.  Trying to be discreet, I went up to my friend and told her I needed to sit down for a few minutes.  She looked very concerned, but I assured her I was fine.  I went to sit with Micah for the remainder of the rehearsal.

Later that evening, Micah and I were in bed talking.  I was worried getting sick right before the wedding.  I did not want to disappoint my cousin and friend.  As we talked, the conversation drew to the subject that I was late with my monthly cycle.  I thought some more on it and realized I had skipped almost a month and a half. We became a little excited and unsure about the prospect of having a baby.  We had been talking about it, but we were still trying to decide if we could afford a child at this time.  It was settled, I would go get a at-home test the next day after Micah got home from work.

The following day, I met my parents for lunch at a café in downtown Nampa.  My sister, Brenda, and her husband, Ray, were there with their 10-month-old daughter, Hannah.  My parents had just arrived in town for the wedding that evening, so most of our conversation was on my cousin.  We also laughed and played with Hannah while she kept reaching for the salt and peppershakers on the table. 

After we ordered our food, Ray and Brenda looked seriously at my parents.  “We wanted to let you know,” Ray started, “that you’ll be new grandparents around February.”

All of our mouths dropped.  I looked at my sister next to me, “Who told you?”

Everyone started to laugh at my naïve question, but Brenda looked at me and then her expression changed to reflect her own question, “What are you talking about, LuAnn?”

“Well… I haven’t been to see the doctor yet,” I started to explain, “I was going to take the test later today with Micah.”  My sister’s eyes widened as I talked and I realized my mistake, “Oh!”

I turned to my parents, “I guess you should expect two grandchildren.”

A hush went over the table.  My mom picked up her water glass with shaky hands.  Our meal arrived and our conversation turned to the two babies for the rest of the time.  When we left the restaurant, my mom wanted to take me to the store to pick up a test.  We then went back to Micah’s and mine apartment.  I went ahead and took the test, but refused to look at it until Micah came home.  As soon as he walked in the door, I pulled him into the bathroom and together we looked.  It was positive!

The news of the two babies spread quickly at the wedding.  Nothing is kept secret for long in my family.  I wasn’t feeling sick anymore and made it through the wedding just fine.  It was a joyous occasion!  My cousin and his wife never looked happier.  I had to work the following day, so we made it an early evening to get rest.

Saturday morning came, and I rolled out of bed to head to the bathroom.  My queasiness returned, so I quickly got ready for the shower, hoping the hot steam would help.  I looked down noticing spots of blood my heart sank.  I yelled for Micah to come help me.  He came in to see what was wrong and his eyes filled with sorrow immediately.  He went to pick up the phone and call the doctor.  When we finally got a hold of the doctor’s office, they told us there was nothing they could do.  If I was going to miscarry, they couldn’t stop it, but I was to remain still with my feet up for the rest of the weekend.  Then on Monday morning I could go in and see the doctor.  Micah got on the phone to our families and asked for prayer.

We made it through the weekend.  The bleeding had stopped.  At the doctor’s appointment we were told everything looked good.  The doctor said the baby was just fine.  Breathing a sigh of relief, we went home and prepared for the arrival.  According to the doctor, I was four to six weeks along and the baby would come in April.  The remainder of my pregnancy went great.  I didn’t have any morning, noon, or evening sickness and continued to work as if I was as healthy as ever.

In February 1995, my grandmother died from cancer.  Five days later, my sister gave birth to her first son.  It was a time mixed with joy and sorrow.  During this time, we received a phone call late one night.  Immediately, we knew it was Micah’s oldest brother, Matt, since he was the only who called late at night.  Matt lived in Anchorage, Alaska, and always forgot about the time difference.  Micah crawled out of bed to answer the phone and was up until almost 1:00 a.m. talking to his brother.

The next morning, Micah shared with me what Matt had said:

“The Lord said that He has placed His hands on your son’s life.  Satan will try to come against him and try to destroy him, because he is scared of what the boy will do for God.  Your son will be marked as a reminder to you of God’s promise…” (this is in essence).

On April 11, 1995 at 3:30 p.m. our son, Erik Albert Reams, was born.  It was a long 12 ½ hours of labor, but in the end we had a healthy 9 lb 9 oz boy.  On the left side of his head was a scar about 1 ½ inched long.  When we had a doctor look at it he said it looked as if he had been cut and then it healed over.  I was immediately reminded of what Matt had spoken to Micah over the phone.  The scar baffled the doctors, but I wasn’t worried.  Our boy was healthy!