Thirteen

Yesterday was a big day in the Broussard house, our only child, Joshua, turned 13! We can hardly believe how the years have flown by.

Diapers, bottles, bouncy seats, ear infections, teething, Veggie Tales, Bible Man, "blankies", first steps, Kindergarten, friends, birthday parties, sleepovers, Christmases, first cell phone, growth spurts, "peach fuzz" on the lip and all the countless other things that have been packaged into the last thirteen years. So many memories...

And yet all I am able to do is think of how it all began. Stephen and I and were so unsure about getting pregnant with all my health issues, we were thinking of adopting for a long time but it just never seemed like the way God wanted us to go.

I was at Precept Bible study one Thursday morning and our teacher,Betty Miller, a wonderful woman of God who has gone Home to be with the Lord, began to talk about a recent trip to the doctor with her three year old son, Luke. She described a man with a hook for an arm who came into the office and Luke went right up to the man and asked if he had ever asked Jesus to heal him. Well, I'm sure the rest of the story was just as great but at that point I stopped listening only to hear the Lord speak to my heart and say, "Roxanne, have you ever asked Me to give you a healthy baby and a safe pregnancy?" Well, in all honesty, no I hadn't.

My life and heart were changed that day, I knew that God had spoken and I was to be obedient. After talking with Stephen and much prayer and seeking the Lord, we began to try to conceive.

August 26th, 1996 we found out we were going to have a precious life and we were both so excited we hardly knew what to do with ourselves! My doctor visit a few days later was great, we were blessed to find out the baby was due in early May.

At one of our earlier exams my doctor said some very shocking words to us, "If things don't look right to us, due to your medical problems, we can help you with that if you don't want to go any further." We couldn't even believe the suggestion was brought up! "Doctor, this is our baby and whatever the outcome, he/she is a gift from God. We will love this baby no matter what." It was never mentioned again.

On May 2nd, 1997 Joshua Aaron Broussard came into this world and our lives have never been the same since. He is truly our miracle and we are blessed every day to have him. We have no idea what to expect from the teenage years, we just give them and our Josh to the Lord each day and pray that God will continue to work in his heart just as He has for the first twelve.

I am so thankful that I obeyed the Lord so long ago, the blessings have been countless. Joshua is a miracle to us for sure, when I stop to think of the severity of my disabilities and the likelihood of pregnancy and a healthy child it makes me cry every time - only the God of the Universe can do such miraculous things. Joshua will be our only child but we are honored to have him - he has blessed our lives more than he will ever know. I will forever praise my God for allowing me the honor and joy of experiencing Motherhood - it has been such a thrill and it can only get better!!

Happy Birthday Josh - I love you!

Rejoicing in Hope,
Roxanne