Random Thoughts On My Twins, Hurricane Harvey, 1st Responders, Gianna Jesson, Providence, And The Value of Life

We were told that we couldn’t have children

My wife was told that, because of a physical defect, she would never be able to have children.

God is sovereign. We have five grown children.

All are college graduates. All make us proud. God did this because of His providence, for His glory.

My twins

My son and his twin sister were born at 7&1/2 months into my wife’s pregnancy. My daughter had under-developed lungs and we were told that my son had fluid on his brain with a large portion of his brain unformed and he may not make it through the night, but definitely wouldn’t live more than a few days. We wept and prayed with our family, pastor & church elders. A day later we were told that his brain was perfectly normal with no satisfactory explanation as to how they could get it so wrong. God did this because of His providence, for His Glory.

Our twins went home after 10 days. He weighed 3 lbs. 12 oz. and she weighed 3 lbs. 8 oz., but they were alive, they were beautiful and they were our first born (technically he was the first born, but his sister claims a virtual tie since she was only 10 minutes behind and was in the breach position). They were so tiny that their heads fit in the palm of my hand and we had to buy Cabbage Patch Kids doll clothes to find anything small enough to fit them.

My twins at 1 year

My daughter

After graduating Magna Cum Laude from Hardin Simmons University with a bachelors’ degree, she then obtained a Masters’ degree from Dallas Baptist. Six years ago, she married a wonderful, Christian man. About three years later, she gave birth to our first grandchild, a healthy 8 &1/2 lb. boy. 2 years later she gave birth to our first granddaughter, a healthy 8 lb. girl. Today, she is a dedicated, amazing wife & mother who also happens to provide nursing services to the elderly and infirm 2-3 nights a week. I call her the real Wonder Woman, but God did this because of His providence, for His glory.

My beautiful daughter and her children

My son

He graduated from the University of Kansas. His college career started out shaky but he matured and finished strong. Four years ago, he graduated from the Houston Fire Department Training Academy. He was number one in his class for the academic portion of the training. The HFD literally forced his entire graduating class to go to paramedic school and become licensed paramedics (they often force them because firefighters usually just want to be firefighters). For those of you who don’t know, all firefighters (at least for Houston) are EMT’s, but paramedic certification is a much more comprehensive course of study and is close to the equivalent of obtaining an RN in an intense, 6-month program instead of 2 years. In his second month as a paramedic, he saved the life of a baby who was choking and had stopped breathing. This morning, he finished his 72 hour shift rescuing victims of Hurricane Harvey (they did make him take a 6-hour break after the first 42 hours to get some rest). During the first 24 hours, he was in a boat on what used to be the Addicks Reservoir (it is now unrecognizable because of the mass flooding) with a crew from the Ohio Task Force and they rescued over 100 people throughout that first night alone. He’s now on his way home for the first time in 3 days. God did this because of His providence, for His Glory.

My son at his HFD graduation

Hurricane Harvey and the value of life

I’m thankful beyond words that my family members residing in Houston are safe after Hurricane Harvey. I’m heartbroken at the devastation of property and the terrible loss of life and I’m reminded of the infinite value of human life.

I was inspired to write this piece after watching the devastation of Hurricane Harvey and the lives that were saved by first responders and ordinary volunteers. I was also inspired after watching YouTube videos and reading about the story of Gianna Jesson, whose mother aborted her at the same point in pregnancy that my twins were born: 7&1/2 months. Miraculously, she survived a saline abortion and travels the world fighting against the evil of abortion. She’s is a beautiful, young woman with what she calls “the gift of cerebral palsy” and her singing voice is beyond beautiful. You can read more about Gianna here. God did this because of His providence, for His Glory.

Like Gianna, the value that my twins bring to this world, is beyond measure. Not because my daughter was a good student and is a wonderful mother. Not because my son is a first responder. Not because they’re awesome (even though I think they’re awesome), but because they are human beings, Imago Dei: in the very Image of God. Every child that has been killed through the evil practice of abortion was Imago Dei.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;”

Genesis 1:26

The three people mentioned in this narrative have lives that are infinitely valuable. Watching the amazing effort of the first responders and volunteers rushing into danger to help complete strangers of every color and creed tells me that human beings are unique and have this same value. No other creature on this planet repeatedly goes into danger to save strangers. They didn’t stop to determine which of the people in danger had more value to society before saving them. In fact, it was always the weakest and the most vulnerable who were rescued first. God did this because of His providence, for His Glory.

God ultimately proves this through the fact that we are condemned and owe the penalty for our sin and He paid that penalty through the substitutionary sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, who was executed, who was buried, and raised on the third day that we might have the assurance of life after death, if we repent and believe. God did this because of His providence, for His glory.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

The value of life

Most people don’t realize that a woman can obtain an abortion in all 50 states, for any reason, through the 9th month of pregnancy. In 2015, approximately 908,000 babies were aborted in the United States. 9-11% of those were aborted after the first trimester. Conservatively, that’s 81,720 babies. These are not masses of tissue, they are human life. Unlike Gianna, most of these babies don’t survive. I can’t help but wonder about how many of these human beings would have been mothers, firefighters, singers, Uber drivers, carpenters, landscapers, doctors…every living human being was given life at conception and is the Imago Dei.

All people are the indisputable arguments for the sanctity of life.

That’s the lesson I take away from the lives of the 3 people I’ve written about here, from the countless examples of sacrifice we’re seeing in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, and from the ultimate sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.