Before Grayson was ever conceived, when I was pregnant with our twins, my paastor preached on the Shunammite woman. He talked about her kindness to the prophet Elisha, her barrenness, how she was given a son, and how she responded to her young son's death. The boy was still young, but old enough to be helping his father in the fields and one day he complained to his father, "My head! My head!" His father had a servant take him inside to his mother where she held him until noon, and then he died. She refused to accept his death. She put him in the upper room of their house, which she and her husband had built for the prophet Elisha to stay whenever he was in their area. She put him in a place where no one else could see him, she told no one what had happened, and she went for the prophet Elisha. As a matter of fact, when she went out to have a donkey saddled, her husband asked how everything was. Her response was "it is well." She set out to find Elisha at Mt Carmel. Elisha saw her approaching in the distance and sent his servant to find out what was wrong, to which she responded, "it is well." Once she came into Elisha's presence she again made out all was well, but he knew something was wrong, and at this juncture she poured her heart out. He came home with her, went upstairs to her son, prayed over him, and his life was restored. (2 Kings 4:8-37) When I heard this sermon, I knew it was for me. I was a mother of 5 and now pregnant with twins. My greatest fear (as is most mothers) was in losing a child. And I told the Lord that morning, if I ever lost a child I would do the same thing the Shunammite woman did.
Before a year passed, it was Mother's Day Sunday, my pastor again preached on the Shunammite woman. It wasn't the same sermon, but I had very similar feelings as I did the first time I heard about her. Again I told the Lord, "if one of my children ever dies, I will do the same thing she did." And then I thought, "but she had a man of faith (Elisha). Who would be my man of faith?" The answer to that question lay dormant for several months. One Sunday evening, Jeff Jacobs, our previous youth pastor, was preaching and in the midst of his preaching he said, "I have faith to believe God can raise people from the dead!" And I knew at that moment he was my man of faith. I then told the Lord, "if one of my children dies, I will get him."
A couple of years later my husband was 50, I was pushing 40, and we were pregnant with our eighth child! The pregnancy was wonderful, easy, perfect. But suddenly I was in the hospital,... my baby's life was no more. I didn't want anyone doing anything with my son. At the very moment I was waking up from the anesthesia, I was believing, as the Shunammite woman did, that God would raise him from the dead. I knew He could. I expected Him to.
In the recovery room my mind was perceiving, my ears were hearing, my mouth was able to speak, but I was struggling to keep my eyes open. Ed came into the recovery room. I didn't see him, I felt him. He had been crying, but was trying to be strong. When he told me, "Sandi, he's so beautiful," I knew all I had been hearing was true and there were fresh tears on both of our cheeks. Through my tears, I told Ed, "don't let anyone take our baby. Don't let anyone do anything to him. I believe God can rasie him from the dead just as He did the Shunammite woman's son."
I don't suppose I had ever shared the Shunammite story with Ed, or the feelings and conversation I'd had with God about it. I had kept it all in my heart. Do you know what his response was after I told him? "Okay, let me go back to him." He didn't ridicule me, or think I'd lost my mind, or think I was in denial; he went right back to our son. I am overwhelmed right now as I write at that man's instant faith and support.
Shortly after Ed left, my dad came in, sorry for what had happened. I told him I believed God could raise him from the dead. Dad asked, "Why would you think that?!" His demeanor, his mannerism, changed. Instantly. He'd been so compassionate and as soon as I spoke those words he became very matter-of-fact. I wonder if he thought I'd lost my mind or was in denial. I proceeded to tell him the story of the Shunammite woman. Subsequently, he left.
The next person to come in to recovery was my pastor. I had been asking for him. I told him the Shunammite woman story was for me and I was believing Grayson to be raised from the dead. I wanted my baby prayed over. He said, "Ed and I already prayed for the baby...But, I'll go back." And he was gone.
