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The birth as a miracle of God
«The mystery of the emergence of a new human creature is a great and inexplicable mystery. There were two and suddenly comes a third person, a new spirit, whole, complete, as there is no by human hands, a new life and new love, even scary ... And there is nothing higher in the world!»
F.M. Dostoyevsky novel «The devils»
The birth of each child brings to life a new special meaning, gives the world a new love. Baby prattle fills the house with gentle warmth and comfort. Every woman dreams of becoming a mother and preparing for it since her childhood. As a little girl she is watching the lives of parents, playing with dolls, representing a mom. In the youth her dream of motherhood is becoming more conscious, and the young lady is looking for a young man and only one which she wants to see as the father of her children. And like everything is going well. There is love and understanding, no one and nothing may prevents to give birth a baby. But time elapses, a lot of time and there is still no baby. Your relatives and friends aren't getting tired to ask: "Well, whenever will you, you have?" Parents are waiting for grandchildren. But you still aren't getting on well. You're trying to come back with a joking, you're changing the subject, but in your soul is stuck like a stab in the heart. "When?" When? Whenever? You begins walking through and around the hospitals, inconclusive results, however. "You need to do your very best" say the doctors.
And when expectations are no more longer, only then we think on God. You begin to sort out the memory of whole your life, something's done wrong, someone's hurt? Lived, thinking only of yourself? Believed that everything's in your power, if you really wanted to... ... Much we may remember in these thoughts. It seems that one can ask for forgiveness of those hurt while you was in your pride and confidence, then everything will get better at once. Praying to God ... and He still doesn't assist, the time did not come yet, you need to do something else or to understand. Sometimes happens so that you've lost all interest in everything and, desperation is growing all-consuming, and you do not know already, what for are you here in this world. To live on for what? Work, friends are now all wrong for you. Everything is getting vacant and meaningless, if you cannot perform the main thing, for which you're living to have child and to raise them for to invest in them all your soul, all your warmth and love. It's like a thing as if you aren't living at all or this isn't you. Sometimes in this infinite despair one can go too far.
But, thank God, there is fertile ground for the place where we may be comforted. There are monasteries and temples where they pray for childless, asking the God has forgiven them, sinners, and sent as a miracle the little baby.
Here I want to tell you about St. John the Divine (Evangelist) church in the village Karamyshevo. There, according to the blessing of His Eminence Nikon, bishop of Lipetsk and Yelets father Nicholas for the past four years performs requires "about the pregnant " and does requires in the course of two years “about the childless”. Within this time about three thousand pregnant women got addressed to the church and to the priest, asking them to pray for the successful resolution, as well as more than three thousand childless men and women. To the chosen of them at their strengthening in the faith and prayer to the God, sighs, prayers at the cathedral for them in other monasteries and temples, our God helps to overcome infertility and lends prosperous pregnancy.
But bearing under heart a new life, expectant mothers must go through many tests, namely, bad health, the threat to life and health of infants, doctors' prognosis. Of course, all the hardships and suffering are given us for our sins and faith, "To each according to his forces ..." We lay the blame at the environment and many other factors. But our conscience that recalls the injustice of our living, turns us to God. Bitterness, anxiety, fear and suffering are sounding in the voices of the asking for prayer about the pregnants by phone and in letters. Somebody's painfully thinking about abortion ...
And just how great is the joy of successfully who safly endured all tests with the help of God! We're rereading with tears in our eyes letters, full of gratitude and happiness. And it is impossible yet not to believe in the salutary power of prayer.
What for miracle was the triplet, for example, the giving birth of former childless couple Tikhon and Fotinia after 13 years of waiting and praying. Two boys and one girl! I think that their state of joy and gratitude is right beyond the words!
It's also a touching case when the family finally found its own well-being and the parents of long-awaited kids are granting an icon to the temple before which they prayed during the burdensome expectations. This is the story of Theodore and Olga. Forthwith after her delivery the wife of Theodore told to the dean father Nicholas that they wished to donate to the parish a large sum of money or the icon owing to the birth of daughter Barbara, i.e. the event which they had waited for 8 years. Father Nicholas forthright decided to opt an icon which was granted as a gift in the following days. The very fact of icon granting imaged of our God Jesus Christ is worth to tell its own story which I hope will soon also rejoice us at the pages of this magazine.
And to all who needs God's help I would like to speak up "Ask for and will be given you", "to each according to own faith." The miracles of child-birth in defiance of despair are the glaring examples of inexhaustible grace of our God.
s.o.G. Tatiana B. (Starkov), v. Karamyshevo, Griazy district.
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