Praying for Little Girls in Unstable Times

All three of my daughters have Bolivian citizenship. Sometimes people will look at Norma, Krista and Kari and then point to Norma and say something like, "So, this is your Bolivian daughter!" I can assure you, this is one way to really fry Krista and Kari's grits... they have never appreciated hearing statements like that.

When Krista was born, Bolivia was under a "state of siege." This meant the military was in control of the country; due process of law was denied; and, there was a curfew after 8:00pm. If you were caught out after curfew you were taken to the military jail in Miraflores. It was an unstable country at an unstable time.

We chose the doctor and hospital where Su gave birth to Krista based on the fact that I could be present in the delivery room. Back in those days, this was a new idea in Bolivia. In fact, during one of Su's prenatal visits, Dr. Teran asked if he could invite a few professional colleagues to join us in the delivery room, so they could observe how a husband handled the experience. Su, ever the nurse, thought that sounded like it would be okay.

Still, on July 12, 1979, when Su was rolled into the delivery room, we found we were accompanied by an audience of five doctors and six or seven nurses. Admittedly, we hadn't really processed what it would feel like for my introverted wife to give birth in front of this many people. However, my brave and very focused wife threw caution (and modesty) to the wind and did everything she was asked to do to get on with the task at hand.

I must admit to making a few mistakes in my role as Su's "helper" - sorry, I still find it rather humorous that men feel like they are really doing anything useful while their wife is giving birth. First, I had promised I would read the book on natural childbirth. I really meant to... seriously. Somehow those nine months just got away from me. Second, in response to Su asking me about what Krista looked like when she was born, I made an unfortunate "man error" and actually told her the truth. Believe me, I think (hope, believe) that I have learned my lesson in this particular area.

It is now a bit more than 32 years later. Yesterday morning at 4:05am Krista gave birth to her own daughter, Hannah Grace Ophus. She was accompanied by her husband Chris and just the right amount of hospital staff. My guess is Chris knew all the right things to do and all the right things to say - he is an excellent son-in-law.

From the time they came into our family, Su has prayed Numbers 6:24-26 over our daughters. I pray the same thing for Hannah and my other grandchildren this morning. The world is still an unstable place where bad things happen to good people. 

"The Lord bless you - Hannah, Jonathan, Adrian and Natasha, and keep you; The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace."