Many times during my walk with the Lord I have witnessed in my own life where “He has done exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” as Ephesians 3:20 records, but none will ever surpass the day God blessed me with the biggest surprise of my life!

I was a 22 year old young bride when I conceived in my womb and carried my child in my womb for the complete 9 months. Not unusual or miraculous in that you may say! But the story is only just started. I had previously decided to have natural childbirth at home with the aid of a midwife. The morning my labor started the midwife discerned something different about the labor and called on the assistance of my doctor. Not long after the doctor arrived I gave birth to a beautiful five pound baby girl. There was some confrontation between the doctor and midwife which I just couldn’t understand as I was expectantly exhausted from hours of labor and childbirth. The midwife was arguing that she thought there was another child in the womb while the doctor insisted it was only a big afterbirth! Well, only 15 minutes later, I was holding in my arms that big afterbirth, another five pound beautiful baby girl, the biggest surprise and may I say shock of my life. 

The birth of any baby is miraculous but the birth of two healthy babies from the same womb is almost overwhelming especially when you are expecting only one child.

But you know what, it did not surprise the Lord, for He had already called them in the womb to their individual destinies in serving Him. To the medical field and to all who saw them they were identical and mirror images of each other but to the Lord they were as individual as their unique fingerprints.

I had loved the name “Patsy” so when our first and only, or at least so we thought, daughter was born she was named “Patsy”. My husband liked the name “Angela” so when God surprised us with our second daughter John got his “Angela”. Since both girls were healthy full term babies, they were left at home with us. Without exaggeration the second baby, Angela, cried incessantly for days so we decided she would never be an angel, so we exchanged their names! I was later told it was the shock of being left in the womb on her own that caused her stress and her crying. So our daughter who you all know as Angela was once called Patsy and who you now know as Patsy was once Angela. If you know the girls at all you will realize it was a good decision. LOL And so now you know the rest of this miraculous and unusual story.

All her life “my big afterbirth” surprise has tried and succeeded in surprising me in many ways. This past weekend she totally surprised us by flying in from Nashville to gate crash a dinner party we had planned for friends and her twin sister and brother-in- law who live nearby. Needless to say she was the icing on the cake of a wonderful evening of fellowship and lots of laughter. Thank you, Patsy, for continuing to bless our lives with surprises but it is with such sweet sorrow when we have to drop you off at the airport and say au revoir until our next surprise. God be with you till we meet again!

Thank you, Lord, for giving us a double blessing and blessing the fruit of my womb.

CHALLENGE: Never be surprised what God will and can do!