The young woman had become desperate to find happiness after the bitter abandonment and divorce which left her without a job and a child to raise. Had it not been for family and friends, she would have given up altogether.
Friends had recommended her for a computer job which worked out fine. She had done data entry before. The little apartment she found was just right for her and her toddler. With the help of her family, she didn’t have to worry about childcare right away. Maybe she could make it on her own after all.
A girl friend who had done some community theatre with her, introduced her to astrology and eventually to a woman who could “read” the future. She had always thought of psychics as phonies who were just out for money. This one was willing to give her a “reading” for free. She agreed to try it one time, but it was more of a game to her than something real.
She never thought too much of the predictions the psychic had made until she met a man who wanted to date her. She had dated once or twice since the divorce but was not comfortable because she was more concerned about her daughter than having much of a social life. This man was different. He was very sensitive to her daughter’s feelings. He had been the product of a broken home as well. Within months of meeting, it was evident that there was a future with each other. The girl friend who had introduced her to the psychic months before reminded her of the prediction made about her meeting someone and remarrying. Just coincidence she told herself. The two were married and set out to make a real home together.
After three years, the marriage was growing strong and the young family had become involved with a church family and was growing spiritually every day. The two had tried to have another child, but it was more a desire for the woman to give her husband a child of his own. He had already decided to adopt her daughter because he thought of her as his own. Once before she had thought she might be pregnant, but it was a false alarm. Now, for some reason, she suspected she might be pregnant but not because of symptoms. It was just a gut feeling. Out of the blue, the words of the psychic came back to her. She would have a child but there would be complications, a respiratory problem. Why was this coming to her now? Surely it wasn’t true. Still she couldn’t shake the ominous feelings she had. She decided to ask God to protect this baby if in fact she was pregnant. That night, she drifted into fitful sleep and had a dream. She saw the hands of God, held out together and holding a tiny baby boy. She heard God tell her that her son was going to be fine, that his name was Daniel which meant judged of God.
When she awoke, she related the dream to her husband and immediately made an appointment with the doctor to confirm the pregnancy. Once the pregnancy was confirmed, she would tell anyone who would listen about how God had intervened for her even to the point of giving her son a name.
The Sunday morning before Labor Day, only seven months into the pregnancy, the young mother was awakened with excruciating pain. Surely she could not be in labor, it was too soon. The pain could not be denied and finally her water broke. She was almost in a panic. This couldn’t be — .not now — .it was too soon.
A neighbor came over to take care of their daughter and the young couple headed for the hospital. Her doctor was off, his assistant would meet them. “No!” she thought. HER doctor was supposed to deliver him. She was in such a state the doctor sedated her and before the father could call anyone to let them know they were at the hospital, he was being taken to see his new son, Daniel.
It would be the next day before she was awake enough for the Pediatrician to advise her of her baby’s condition. Because he was two months early, his lungs had not sufficiently developed. He had a condition she had read about called Infant respiratory destress (formerly Hyaline’s Membrane Disease). That was the disease that took the life of JFK’s son. The doctor said if he was able to survive 72 hours, he would have a chance. What he didn’t tell her was that he had advised her husband to make arrangements because, generally, only one in a thousand survive. All day long, she was on a roller coaster of emotions. Surely God had not let her down. Surely she didn’t imagine the truth of her dream. Her husband had gone home to care for their daughter and seek out his own peace. As she lay in the hospital room, now dark, she was trying to understand the spiritual battle she was having. Suddenly, the room was white with a blinding light. She could hear singing like a huge choir. They were singing a song familiar to her. “There’s a light shining forth, I can see it on the horizon, it’s the Army of God, preparing for war. Coming conquering victorious, o’er the army of Satan. Nothing shall stand before the Army of God.” Just as suddenly, the light disappeared, the singers gone, but she was at perfect peace and knew her son was well.
The next morning, the Pediatrician returned with the news that there was nothing wrong with her son. He couldn’t explain what had happened but did not dismiss her when she told him that God had performed a miracle.
When her husband came back to the hospital, he told her how everyone in their church had been praying for Daniel. A visiting pastor had left for a conference in Tennessee and from there a network of prayers had gone across the nation, as the conference participates had taken the word of Daniel to their destinations.
As Daniel grew, he was told many times of all who prayed for him and how God had fought the battle for his life. Today he is a husband and father, but the greatest legacy he can pass to his children is how God judged him and called him his own.