By Guo Yu
I am a country woman. In my 60s, my son still hasn’t gotten married, and seeing the women younger than me become a grandmother, I felt very anxious. In 2011, my son finally got married, and in March 2013, my daughter-in-law gave birth to an adorable, plump little boy. I finally became a grandmother. Seeing my grandson, I flashed an uncontrollable smile. I busied myself taking care of him and held him and never wanted to put him down.
My grandson’s sudden strange disease made me feel so terribly sad.
On the fourth day after my grandson’s birth, when we fed him formula, he continually drank a sip of it and spat it out. Then, he began to hiccough and did so more and more frequently; presently, he started to foam at the mouth. Seeing this, my whole family became panicked; I got even more frightened and thought, “What’s wrong with this child? Does he have an illness? I’m over sixty but have never seen that other people’s children have this symptom. His stomach doesn’t swell when being touched. What illness is this?” With this in my mind, my heart clenched right away. Then, my whole family rushed to take the baby to the hospital.
After arriving at the hospital, a doctor saw that my grandson vomited a lot, and then he said, “The baby is a newborn child, so perhaps he drank amniotic fluid. His stomach needs to be pumped.” Hearing this, I felt so anxious that my heart was clenched, and I thought, “Only a few days after his birth, he’ll have to suffer the pain of pumping stomach. Even adults cannot bear it, let alone a newborn child. I was over sixty before I finally had my grandson. Alas! If possible, I’ll take his place….” My heart ached increasingly as I thought about it, and I was in such inexpressible pain that tears streamed down my face. In my misery, I quickly prayed to God, “God, I don’t know what illness my grandson got. Now I’m very anxious and feel worried about his condition, fearing that he won’t pull through. God! My stature is small. May You keep my heart so that I can be a little stronger. I wish to entrust him to You and ask You to make arrangements.” After praying, I was much calmer and I thought, “No matter what the result, I’m willing to face it.” After pumping my grandson’s stomach, the doctor said to us, “This baby did drink amniotic fluid. He is fine after we pumped his stomach. You can go home.” Hearing this, I was very happy.
Unexpectedly, my grandson’s disease was not cured. After returning home that evening, he not only vomited but also hiccupped constantly and even had a hard time breathing. His face became purple. Seeing him in such suffering, I felt bad and anxious but had no choice. I kept watching his expression at his side, and thought, “He has his stomach pumped, but why has he not gotten better? What kind of illness does he have? If he constantly hiccups and vomits like this, will he be able to survive it tonight?” Seeing the poor child, I felt so worried that I could not sit still. Therefore, I hurriedly prayed to God in my heart and asked God to enlighten and lead me. After praying, I thought of a passage of God’s words, , “Be quiet within Me, for I am your God, your only Redeemer. You must quiet your hearts at all times and live within Me; I am your rock, your buttress. Have no other mind, but rely on Me with your whole heart and I will certainly appear to you—I am your God!” God’s words gave me comfort, faith, and strength. I understood, “Only God is my ever-present help and reliance. With God as my backbone, what on earth is there to be afraid of? Everything is in God’s hands. Everyone’s life and death are dominated by God and are up to God to decide. My grandson is also in God’s hands. Whether his health improves or not is all arranged by God. I should learn to obey God.” The thought alleviated much of my fear.
After a while, I saw that my grandson’s symptom of hiccup decreased, that his face was not that purple, and that his condition was gradually stable, so my anxious heart calmed down a little. Unknowingly, I made it through a tough night.
Faith can help us through the difficulties.
The following day, when we hurried to a provincial children’s hospital, my grandson’s breathing had become very shallow, so straight away we registered him for emergency treatment. According to the description given by us of his situation, three specialists immediately examined him by auscultation. After his diagnosis, they said, “Although it’s only been a few days after this baby’s birth, his condition is extremely serious and complex. He is diagnosed with two congenital diseases. One is pulmonary arterial hypertension. This disease is very strange and rare. So far there has been no way to treat it in the world. The other is a serious heart disease. Right now, this one can be cured in China. But now the baby is too young to undergo an operation, so we can only let him stay here under observation to manage the illness. If you agree to such treatment, you can go through the admission procedures right away.”
After hearing this, I felt like the world was spinning and I was struggling for breath; my entire body becoming limp, I immediately collapsed on the floor, unable to stand up. My two daughters hurried to help me and carried me to a chair. Then, it was a good while before I recovered my breath. I felt pain and distress, and I thought, “The baby has gotten these two congenital diseases at such a young age. If there is really no way to save him, how am I going to survive?” At that time, I was very negative and weak, so I once again prayed to God to ask for faith so that I could face that situation. Afterward, I thought of God’s words, “Why do you not entrust them into My hands? Do you not have sufficient faith in Me? Or is it that you are afraid I will make inappropriate arrangements for you?” Yes. God created the heavens, the earth, all things, and mankind. God’s authority and power are beyond our imaginings. God is responsible for everyone’s life. How long everyone lives was long ago preordained by God; it isn’t up to anybody, nor the doctors and I. Only God has any say in the matter. My faith in God is too small. Since I’ve delivered my grandson into God’s hands, what else is there to worry about? I’m a created being, so I should stand in a created being’s place and submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements when things happen. I cannot look into whether they are good or bad based on my own ideas and imaginings. In the matter of my grandson’s illness, whatever the result is, I’m willing to submit to God’s sovereignty.
A week later, one of my daughters said to me, “The baby’s diagnosis didn’t change. Now he has been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. There are four holes in his heart. He also has pulmonary arterial hypertension. This is a very rare disease and there’s no cure for it in medical science.” Hearing this, my heart was especially unperturbed and did not feel pain. I thought, “Since the doctors have no way to cure him, then I’ll entrust my grandson to God. Just let things take their course.”
Just at that moment, my grandson’s grandmother said, “We’ve tried to cure the baby and have spent a lot of money, but his condition doesn’t improve. If we spend all the money, what will our whole family live on? How about we bring him home.” After hearing her say this, I replied, “As long as there’s a breath of life in him, we’d better try our best to cure him. Just do what we can and leave the rest to Heaven.” At that time, I thought about another passage of God’s words, “Who of the whole of mankind is not cared for in the eyes of the Almighty? Who does not live in the midst of the Almighty’s predestination? Does man’s life and death happen by his own choice? Does man control his own fate?” Pondering these words, I could not help but think, “Yes indeed. God rules over and controls the fate of every person. When someone is born and when they die has all been preordained by God. We don’t have a grasp on it and we also have no choice on it. My grandson’s fate is arranged by God. As for whether or not he can survive, I believe it is in God’s hands. I’m willing to obey God’s sovereignty.”
After that, I read God’s words and prayed to God every day, and without realizing it, I did not worry about my grandson’s disease. Miraculously, after I submitted everything to God, my grandson’s condition was gradually stable. He could drink milk and water normally, and was temporarily out of the woods. At that point, I kept thanking God for His protection in my heart. It was God who allowed my grandson to be out of danger.
When I calmly faced my grandson’s situation, a miracle occurred.
After staying in the hospital for twenty days, my grandson was finally discharged. Before we left, the doctors said to us, “After returning home, you need to look after the baby with the greatest care. Don’t take him to the places crowded with people. Don’t speak in a loud voice before him or have him hear screams and honks. If he hears noises, the blood pressure in his lungs will become high. And thus he’ll twitch from head to toe and could lose his life anytime. Six months later, you must take him to the hospital for another examination. Only after the blood pressure in his lungs is stable can his operation be started. If his condition isn’t stable, his surgery has to be postponed. The best time for performing heart surgery is from seven months old to a year old. But you should get your mind right and be prepared. The baby’s disease is not an easy thing to treat and his life is in danger at any time.” After returning home, my whole family was worried about the baby’s condition. My husband was so anxious that he burst into tears, whereas, with God’s protection, I didn’t feel as anxious and worried as I had before. I frequently prayed and brought this matter before God, and in my heart I felt very calm.
When the baby was seven months old, we took him to the provincial hospital for another examination. Not long after, the doctor came out with the examination report, and he saw the X-ray plates and then saw the baby. With a deeply uneasy heart, I watched intently the doctor’s expression. This was when the doctor said in amazement, “It really is a miracle! His serious pulmonary arterial hypertension has disappeared, and the four holes in his heart have almost healed. I’ve never thought that such a small child could recover so quickly. It’s inconceivable! Now, there’s no need for surgery. I’m so happy for you. You’re truly fortunate! I really don’t know how to explain this case. It can only be said that Heaven has eyes. You should thank God!” After hearing this, I was stunned and could barely believe my ears, and my whole family was very excited. At that moment, tears blurred my eyes and I silently thanked God over and over for His protection. It was God who healed my grandson. I witnessed God’s almightiness and sovereignty. The joy that I felt in my heart was something indescribable.
After my experiences, I thanked God for His protection.
Although seven months’ personal experience made me feel sorrow and pain, it was God’s words that always led, enlightened, comforted, and encouraged me, so that I had faith and strength to face my grandson’s disease and came back out from that haze of pain step by step. I also saw God’s wondrous deeds and gained some genuine knowledge and understanding of God’s authority—my faith in God grew. Thinking back on how my grandson’s disease was so serious that the doctors were powerless, and it even couldn’t be cured in medical world, but when I sincerely relied on God and entrusted my grandson into God’s hands, I saw God’s wondrous protection: My grandson’s terminal disease unknowingly disappeared. Science could not explain that clearly and that was forever a riddle for the doctors. But I knew such miracles were precisely the manifestations of the Creator’s authority and power, which is something that no created being possesses.
As time passes on, my grandson is already over five years old. He is very strong and also very active and cute. Seeing him grow up healthy, I feel so happy. I truly thank God for His blessing and grace, and for removing the suffering from my whole family. I am willing to perform my duty properly in my lifetime to repay God’s salvation for us. All the glory be to God!
