By Dr. Spencer Price Miracles happen. I know this for a fact because I just saw one. It happened at 4:56 PM on Sunday, February 19 in a labor and delivery room at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany. That was the moment my son was born. From her womb into my hands, her mother and I brought him into this world together. And his birth was ‘“ as all births are ‘“ a miracle. To see with one’s own eyes a child being born is to witness creation itself. Some say the birth of a child is God’s supreme act. Scientists say that reproduction is the ultimate purpose of all biological activity. I tend to agree with both. In no other act is God’s divinity more apparent or biology’s primary pursuit more obvious than in the birth of a child. There are many events that can change a person’s life and none more so than the miracle of birth. I know this, too, for a fact. That’s because of all the events I’ve experienced in my own life, none has affected me more profoundly than the birth of my own child. Having had the good fortune to deliver him myself, the experience has been especially meaningful. But, then again, so are the simpler acts ‘“ changing his diaper, bathing and dressing him, holding him when he cries, watching him sleep, and praying for God’s blessings upon him. Regrettably, in our so-called ‘modern world,’ the miracle or childbirth has become no miracle at all. In fact, from the president of the United States on down, there are those who consider pregnancy and child-rearing a chore with which they choose not to be ‘burdened.’ Of course, as a free people, Americans are entitled to their opinion. There is no real problem in not wanting to be pregnant or not wanting to have children. Truth be known, there are many parents in this country who shouldn’t be parents. The problem arises when these people who do not wish to be pregnant become so. In their minds, pregnancy is no blessing at all but rather at best, a dilemma, and at worst, a nightmare. Fortunately, some of these people ‘“ either through talking with family or friends, or by seeking counseling, or through prayer ‘“ have an epiphany and come to see things differently. They change their minds, embrace their circumstances, and make the best of a seemingly difficult situation. Unfortunately, some others fail to experience such a change of heart and, instead, seek to end their pregnancy prematurely, thus ending a life. Peering into the basinet beside me at my newborn son, sleeping peacefully, I consider such a decision incomprehensible. But, then again, I know that I have time, experience, and perspective as a guide ‘“ a benefit some others may not yet possess. I’ve made many mistakes in my life and in this I am not alone. In reflecting upon my missteps and shortcomings, I find it equally incomprehensible that God would bless me or any of us, for that matter, with the miracle of childbirth. And yet He does. Grace, I think, is the reason He does so. Peering again at my son, sleeping peacefully beside me, brings into focus a profound realization ‘“ there is nothing in life more precious to me than my son, and yet I believe that all lives are equally as precious. If, then, all lives are indeed equally precious, should we not endeavor to protect each life equally? Indeed we should as all lives are miracles every one.
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