A Blessing of Pregnancy after 7 Years of Marriage!
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 18032 |
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June 08, 2008 |
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 ~ Deaconess Kyung-Ja Cho
(16-2 District; 1-2 Women's Mission)
Meeting with God in praising, healed of gas poisoning aftereffects during a revival meeting... becoming one with my husband in faithfulness and receiving a blessing of pregnancy after devoted prayer
Early in my 20s, I had used a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) water heater but when the gas leaked, I suffered from gas poisoning. I regained consciousness 6 hours after having been transferred to a hospital from which I was discharged after 2 months of treatment. A high fever and a migraine that tormented me as an aftereffect prevented me from getting enough sleep and my appearance was, needless to say, horrible.
I was led to Manmin in 1998 by my older brother (Deacon Kyung-Sang Cho) but the growth of my faith was slow. At the end of April the following year, I was home and listening to a praise cassette tape and the melody of the praise filled my heart with inexplicable emotion. Without realizing it myself, I had already knelt before the cassette tape player.
Buried under the time during which I had fought against my frail body, I looked ghastly. I shed tears as I repented of the past when I had lived the way I wanted. Some two hours later, my body that had always felt like a wet ball of cotton felt very light.
A week later, "The 7th Two-week Special Revival Meeting with Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee" kicked off. I attended it in earnest desire and when I received the Senior Pastor's prayer, my body began to heat up. That's when I was healed of the gas poisoning as well as of eczema that plagued me every summer.
In gratitude of God's grace, I served noodle lunches at Canaan Mission (a gathering of unmarried college graduates) meetings. I met my future husband during that time and married him in 2001. I liked the ever-present smile on his face and how songs of praise never left his lips.
However, our marriage was rocked by the lack of time to speak with one another (my husband was a busy after-school instructor) and constant bickering resulting from the differences in our patterns of everyday life. As time passed, I realized that when I hurt the other person's feeling, I wound up hurting myself more. When I put myself in the other person's shoes, I could understand all situations and all people.
My husband I had no children after many years of marriage.
I had my menarche when I was 16 years old but in 3-4 months, my period became irregular. I would not have a period for 7-8 months at a time, which became a norm, and at other times I would go on for a year without having a period. At these times, my body would bloat and my stomach would swell up to a point where people would ask me if I were pregnant. Of course, I was not well.
Committing everything to God, I thought I would be grateful whether or not He gave me a child. I was simply happy to be faithful to God's work and to be in love with my husband in the word of God. As my parents-in-law were also aware of my frail state, they supported me and tried their utmost to make me feel comfortable.
Early in the summer of 2004, I felt as though the intestines in my lower abdomen were being wrenched within. I went to see a gynecologist and I was soon diagnosed with the last stage of the Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, a prelude to uterine cancer. After I received the handkerchief prayer (Acts 19:11-12) from Chief Great Parish Pastor Rev. Soo-Yeol Cho, the pain went away and the heavy feeling in the lower abdomen was also gone. I became certain of healing.
Around Chinese New Year in 2007, my mother-in-law gave me a bowl of herbal medicine.
"Think of this," she said, "not as medicine but as a token of devotion. God will see this and do His work."
It turns out that she had followed ginseng-diggers on treacherous mountain tracks, dug up herbs, and boiled them down for three days. I was deeply touched.
From that day on, I began to pray for a baby. One day, two days... A month, two months... I was unable to see anything but my patience in prayer persevered.
Then, through "The Special Seven-week Prayer Meeting" held that spring, I resumed having periods for the first time in 2 years. When I started having periods again towards the end of the year, for some reason it lasted more than 2 weeks. I couldn't tell whether I was having a period or a discharge of blood. An examination at a hospital did not detect anything peculiar. One thing for which I became grateful was the fact that my uterus was very clean. There was no pain and as I had been very busy with life, I had not had a chance have the healing of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia evaluated but I was able to confirm it.
Then in April of this year, I found myself unusually exhausted and that there was a sharp pain in my breasts. I went to the hospital to make sure I was okay. Again, the doctors could not find anything alarming. Then I thought to myself that I could possibly have become pregnant. On the way home, I stopped by a pharmacy and purchased a pregnancy test kit. I had become pregnant!
"Honey, I am pregnant!"
"What?! You are pregnant?!"
My husband was overjoyed that he could not stand himself. My parents-in-law, who had devoted their time in prayer every morning for me and although they didn't say so, they were so glad that they invited neighbors for a feast.
The day I confirmed my pregnancy, April 21, was the same day the Association of the Women District Leaders had a special performance during "The Special Seven-week Prayer Meeting." As Chief Cell Leader, I sang on the stage.
"...There's no need to worry about the worldly things~ The Lord is in charge..."
As the lyrics of this praise song reminded me, I had been able to live the past 7 years of my worry-free as the Lord has been in charge of my life.
I give all thanks and glory to God for healing each part of my body and for having done His work at the times of His choosing. I would also like to express my sincerest gratitude to the Senior Pastor for leading me each step of the way with the messages of life and help me grasp the heart of God.
Ways to Create Joy
1.Send Messages: In becoming one, a husband and a wife need to harmonize their opinions. They are likely to hurt each other when they utter words at times they are upset or angry. Send a message, "I want to talk to you" first, and set aside some time for a chat.
2.Boil Some Water in a Kettle: When you take a sip of tea prepared from the boiling water in a kettle, your mind and heart will become relaxed. In a conversation, make an effort to listen to the other person instead of only trying to tell your own stories. Then misunderstandings will be resolved and the good things about the other person can be discovered. As you prepare to boil water in a kettle, the other party will be ready to listen.
3.Acknowledge the Others: As people have grown up in different environments and surroundings, they are different, not "wrong." Acknowledge first that there can be differences. Then those differences will become points of strengths and you will be able to admire and adore the other because of them.
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