A Treasury of Miracles for Women by Karen Kingsbury Page B

have prepared her for the truth, and she felt a sob catch in her throat. Then, before she could give in to the sorrow that threatened to consume her, Miranda re membered the man in the garden. A sense of peace came over her, and suddenly she knew her prayers had been answered. She told the administrator that she'd be down in a few minutes. Then she bowed her head.
    “Dear God,” she whispered through her tears. “I un derstand now. There are no accidents where you're con cerned. Mother didn't die because of that nurse or the medication; she died because you were ready to bring her home. Just like the man said, you are in control. I under stand that better now, Lord. And I thank you.”

The Miracle of Life
    K endra Adams spent a decade battling to protect the rights of the unborn and often she would be asked a hypothetical question: “What if your baby was severely handicapped? Wouldn't you want the choice to abort?”
    And always Kendra would smile patiently and shake her head. “Life comes from God. He has a reason for each and every one of us.”
    Still, never in her wildest imagination did Kendra Adams ever think the issue would become personal. Then she married. She and her husband, Peter, a podiatrist, spent three years battling infertility and praying for a child.
    When the Ann Arbor, Michigan, couple learned Kendra was expecting a baby, they rejoiced, thinking their troubles were over.
    At first the pregnancy went along normally. But four months later, Kendra went in for routine testing and re ceived the first warning that something might be wrong.
    “The good news is that you seem to be carrying twins, one boy, one girl,” the doctor explained. “But I'm con cerned about the little girl. She is too small for her gestational age and she doesn't seem to be developing properly.”
    Kendra glanced at Peter and then back toward the doc tor. “I'm sure it's nothing,” she said. “She'll be fine, Doc tor.”
    “Let's do some more testing. Just to be sure.”
    During the next four weeks, Kendra learned that the female twin she was carrying had developed a severe birth defect in which most of the brain develops outside the skull in a sac at the base of the neck.
    “I'm sorry,” the doctor said after delivering the blow one afternoon. “There's nothing we can do.”
    Peter Adams studied the doctor, hoping there was some ray of hope that might still exist for his unborn daughter. “There isn't anything that can be done? Surgery?”
    The doctor shook his head. “This condition is fatal be cause any distress to the brain stem causes immediate death in most cases. Babies with this type of defect will never have any protection for their brain stem since it has devel oped outside the wall of the skull.”
    He went on to say that even if the baby did survive for a short while, she would have no chance of any intellectual development.
    Kendra hung her head and allowed the tears to come.
Help us, God,
she prayed silently.
Work a miracle in our little girl's life.
    The doctor cleared his throat and shifted uncomfort ably. “I'd suggest we perform a selective abortion to take care of the problem,” he said. “That way there would be plenty of fluid and room for the other twin to develop.”
    Kendra wiped her tears and stared at the doctor. “You mean you want us to abort our little girl?” she said, aston ished.
    “Mrs. Adams, she isn't going to live anyway. This would make it easier for everyone. There's no reason why you should have to go through the trauma of carrying two babies only to have one of them die at birth.”
    Kendra stared at her husband and shook her head in disbelief. “Doctor, I can feel my little girl kicking. I know which side of my womb she is lying on and when she sleeps and wakes up. She may not have a very long life but she will have a safe and comfortable one. Abortion is out of the question.”
    Peter nodded. “I suppose we'll need to talk with some specialists about the specifics of the