Mary's Surprise

Part 3 of 4

We are very impatient, especially when it comes to waiting for something that we really want. Perhaps it was because of the problems we had experienced, because our relationship had been under great pressure, but the fact is that in this baby saw a ray of hope for our future life.

Perhaps that vision might seem selfish, but love can overcome these barriers. So each evening during that week of waiting, we prayed, again and again, to Our Lady of Schoenstatt to grant us the miracle of intercession before God and ask the Lord to give the breath of life to that tiny creature that the doctors insisted had no life at all.

It was not easy to work, sleep or eat during those days, because we did not have the least desire or enthusiasm for any of those activities. Tears sprang quickly and the smiles on the other hand, were almost entirely absent; attempting to describe the anguish of the uncertainty we felt, is beyond the capacity of these words. Yet we had to try to overcome grief and demonstrate true faith.

"If we truly believe in God and the Virgin" we said in one of our many prayers, "we have to act normally and think that our baby is alive, that is what Jesus would do."

And with all our human weakness, we decided to believe and feel that God and the Blessed Mother were going to reach out to us. And so the week went by with us believing that a miracle would come.

And the day came to visit the doctor again; he had his usual professional attitude, preparing the ultrasound machine, while my wife held my hand nervously. We all waited.

Then the image appeared on the screen, but the doctor looked worried. In a whisper I heard him say: "I see nothing yet." I felt the world crumbling down over me, but the doctor decided to insist: "Let me try again."