I received a prayer request this morning from a young mother whose infant son has been diagnosed with cancer. Tiffany is the best friend of my oldest granddaughter, Tracy. I’ve known her since they were in middle school. She has created a Facebook page to ask for everyone’s prayers as Jaxton fights yet another battle.
When she got pregnant soon after graduating from high school, she chose to keep her baby. Jaxton was born with health problems and has fought one battle after another. Somehow, Tiffany has stayed strong through all of it. I pray that they will survive this newest challenge together and finally have good health.
To watch an infant struggle so hard just to survive has to be the most painful thing imaginable. I cannot pretend to understand the anguish that a mother of any age must feel in such a situation. I am not sure I could handle it even now and I thank God that I haven’t had to find out.
I know many people who would say this circumstance is to be expected when children have children, not because the young mothers do anything wrong, but simply because their own bodies aren’t mature enough to handle pregnancy. I want to disagree with them, but must admit the statistics seem to be on their side.
I was a teenage mother. My oldest son was born when I was 17 and his brother came before my 19th birthday. All three of my daughters were mother’s before they were eighteen. I thank God every day that all my children and grandchildren were born healthy in spite of our young ages.
I, personally, ran the gamut of chances for birth defects. When I was pregnant, women were not advised against tobacco and alcohol. I started smoking between the birth of my youngest son and that of my oldest daughter. I never drank a lot, but I never stopped because I was pregnant.
Although my sons were born while I was a teenager, the time span between my oldest daughter and her two younger sisters was long enough to put me in the over thirty bracket for the last one. Thirty-two is only the lower edge of the second most dangerous age for giving birth, but it still falls within the time-frame.
In spite of the odds, I have five healthy, intelligent, beautiful children. They have given me many grandchildren who are the same, even though my daughters too were not always the optimal age and sometimes indulged bad habits.
As I look back over my life and consider the many mistakes I made when I was young, I can only conclude that my mother’s prayers were answered and God was watching over us every day. The faith she nurtured in me leads me to pray daily for my children and grandchildren to be as blessed as I have been. I know He hears and even when circumstances lead to difficult times, He is there to give us as much strength as we need to overcome the problems of life.
