Seasons (46 page)

A couple of weeks later, as Jaci led a song in the church choir in Sunday morning service, she became suddenly so hot she
could barely stand it, and her stomach felt like it was full of fluttering butterflies. She barely made it through the song
before darkness consumed her, and she felt herself falling. She was lying on a couch in the lounge when she came to. A crowd
of people gathered around her, Jason sat beside her looking frightened, and a woman whom Jaci knew was a nurse checked her
pulse.

“She’s coming around,” Jaci heard the nurse say. “I think she just fainted. She probably started back into her routine too
soon and never really got over that flu. Make sure she gets some rest, but just to be on the safe side, you might need to
go ahead and get her in to see the doctor.”

Over Jaci’s objections, Jason managed to harass her doctor into seeing her the next day. Jaci endured the usual battery of
tests and was sent to the doctor’s office. Jason was already sitting in the office when she got there. “I hope you’re happy,”
she grumbled. “This has just been a waste of time.”

Before he could answer, the doctor entered and took a seat behind the desk. She opened the file, read a while, and finally
looked up, smiling. “Well, what color do you guys like? Pink or blue?” They both stared at her blankly, not understanding
the question. The doctor laughed, thinking,
I can see I’m going to have some fun with these two.
“I said, what color do you like? You get two choices: pink or blue.”

When they still didn’t get it, she broke down and explained. “Jaci, Jason, you’re pregnant.”

Jaci knew she was in the middle of a nightmare and tried to shake herself awake but couldn’t get any part of her body to move.
She was opening her mouth to scream when she heard Jason’s loud “What!”

She managed to turn her head to look at him and discovered a shocked expression on his face. Tears filled her eyes and she
prayed, “Lord, please let this be a dream, and let me wake up now!” She looked back to the doctor who was smiling.

“Jaci, honey, it’s no dream. You’re going to have a baby in about seven and a half months. Now, I’ll be keeping a close eye
on you, but you’re healthy and I don’t see a problem with you having a healthy baby.”

“Nooo!” Jaci wailed. “This can’t be! It just can’t. I’m on the pill. I’m too old. I’m a grandmother!” She began to cry so
brokenly that the doctor jumped up and came around the desk.

She rubbed Jaci’s back in a comforting manner, while she questioned her. “Jaci, now I want you to think about this. Have you
missed any of your pills in the last six weeks?”

“No. I’m really careful about not missing a dose. I take them at the same time every day, just so I won’t forget. I’m sure
I haven’t . . .” She stopped, thinking hard, trying to remember.

“Well, something went wrong, because you’re definitely pregnant. What about when you were sick with the flu? Are you sure
you took your pills then?”

Jason snapped out of his shock enough to answer. “To be honest, she was so sick a couple of days that she probably didn’t
remember to take them. But would missing two or three make a difference?”

The doctor looked shocked. “Absolutely! Jaci, you should know that. At any rate, you are going to have a baby. Now, I’m going
to give you some prescriptions that I want you to start taking immediately. This is very important, understand?” When it looked
like she wasn’t getting through to Jaci, she turned to Jason.

“J.P., do you understand what I’m saying? She needs to take these pills every day.”

He nodded, then asked, “What is it she’ll be taking?”

“I’m putting her on a prenatal vitamin and some iron tablets for now. Like I said I’ll be monitoring her closely, and there’s
a possibility that she might have to take something else, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

Jaci, still crying, found the strength to ask, “What about birth defects? I’ve always heard that older women have a higher
percentage of babies born with defects. I can’t . . . handle that . . . I’m sorry, I just can’t.”

Jason grabbed her hand. “Honey, we have to trust the Lord in this. And we will handle whatever happens.”

Jaci cried more brokenly. The doctor rubbed her back and tried to calm her down. “Jaci, I can’t make any promises. It is true
that some older women have babies with defects. But many older women have strong, healthy babies. We’ll do everything we can
to make sure your baby has every chance to be born healthy. The rest, like your husband said, is up to God.”

Jaci struggled to gain control. She took a deep breath and stood up. “Thank you, doctor, I really appreciate your patience.
I don’t usually fall apart like this. I’m really sorry.” She walked toward the door.

“That’s okay, honey. I understand what a shock this has been. Now be sure to make an appointment for next month. In fact,
you can go ahead and get on the book for the next eight months.”

“Okay,” Jaci responded numbly, then ambled through the door.

A
s soon as they were in the car Jason turned to Jaci and began speaking to her urgently. “Baby, I am not Maxie. I’m not going
to leave you and my child. In fact, you would have to melt me and pour me out of your life now. I want you to know that I
am honored to have a child with you. I’ll always take care of you, no matter what. I don’t want you to worry about anything,
okay? Your only concern right now is to have a healthy baby.”

Jaci threw her arms around him. “I know this already. Thank you for saying it though.”

“Well, why are you so unhappy about it? Don’t you want to have my child?” He was actually rather hurt at that thought.

She let her fingers travel over his face in a gentle caress. “Don’t ever think that. It’s just that I’m not a young woman,
and I thought childbearing was behind me. I was looking forward to spending the years ahead with you without the hassles of
parenting. It’s not that I don’t want the child, it’s just that the timing is off. Even five years ago, it would have been
more . . . acceptable. But not now! I just don’t know if I’m up for this right now.” Tears filled her eyes and spilled over.

“What choice do we have at this point?” Jason asked softly.

“We don’t have a choice at this point. That’s why I’m so upset. I did what I knew to do to keep it from happening, but it
happened anyway. Oh God, Jason! What if it’s . . . not normal? That’s the next big concern.”

“That’s out of our hands, honey. We’re going to have to trust God that the baby will be healthy in every way. And we have
to believe that this is God’s will for us. Otherwise it wouldn’t have happened.”

They drove home, where Jaci went into the family room and fell onto the sofa. She kicked off her shoes and curled up in a
knot.

“I’m going to get your prescriptions filled and get something to eat. What do you want?”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Hungry or not, you’ve got to eat something. Now, what do you want? Or do you want me to just bring you anything?”

“Yes. Anything,” she mumbled softly.

“Honey?” Jason sat down beside her on the sofa. “That job definitely has to go. You know that don’t you?”

Jaci groaned. “Jason . . . ! Not now. Let’s talk about this later. Please.”

“I want to give our child every possible chance. That won’t happen with you under constant pressure from that job.”

“Can we talk about this later? I just need to get beyond the shock now.”

“Yeah, sweetheart. I’m sorry. We’ll talk about it later.”

T
hree months was as far as Jason would agree to let her work. But she had enough sick and vacation time built up to get her
to the twenty-five-year mark.

As word of her pregnancy spread, so did excitement among their family and friends. The most cherished call came from their
pastor. After speaking with Jason for a long time, he asked that she get on an extension. With just a few words, the pastor
quieted her worries and built her faith.

“Jaci, I want you to remember something. The child you’re carrying is a gift from God. However it got here, it came from God.
If I understand correctly, that sperm and egg overcame tremendous odds to get together. Just knowing that makes it even more
of a blessing. Now remember that, and start looking forward to this great gift, okay?”

Jaci cried as she hung up the phone. “Jason, I’m so ashamed. I’ve been selfish, thinking only of myself. Can we pray?”

They slid to their knees and Jaci began praying. “Father, I give You praise and glory for the great gift of life that You
have placed within me. I ask for Your hand of protection to be upon that life right now. Bless that life with grace, mercy,
and goodness and deliver that life into this world as a whole and well and healthy human in every way. Father, we thank You
right now for the victory. You’ve done it before, now, Lord, we trust You to do it again. And Father, work in us and do whatever
You need to do to help us be the kind of parents You would have us to be. We pray for Your wisdom and for Your guidance every
step of the way in helping this child to grow up to bring glory to Your Name. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

J
aci had been in a reflective mood all day. She tried to shake it as she rushed around the kitchen, preparing for tonight’s
dinner party.

Her son, Jarrod, was impeding her progress. The toddler held on to her leg and screamed at the top of his lungs. His twin
sister, Jarea, sat in the middle of the floor happily beating the bottom of a pot with a wooden spoon.

“Where is your daddy?” Jaci asked in frustration. “He should have been here thirty minutes ago.” She picked up the phone to
call him, but before she could dial, the phone rang. She answered on the first ring, thinking it was Jason.

“Jaci, baby?” her mother-in-law inquired.

“Oh. Hi, Mom. How are you?”

“I’m fine,” Cecelia answered. “How are my beautiful grandchildren? I can hear one of them is unhappy about something. I bet
it’s Jarrod. Jarea never carries on like that.”

“Yep. You’re right. He’s a little upset that I can’t play right now.”

“Well, I’m just making sure you don’t want us to keep them tonight. It’s been a while since they spent the night with us.”

“Thanks, Mom, but my cousins are bringing their kids, so mine might as well be here. We’re hoping they’ll all go to sleep
early. By the way, where is that son of yours? Is he still at the office?”

“No, he’s on his way home. But he did say he had to make a stop. Well, call me if you want me to take the kids tomorrow night
so you can get some rest. Okay? Bye now.”

Jaci hung up the phone. “That grandma is in need of a grandchild fix. I might as well pack their bag.”

Her reflective mood returned as she thought of all that had happened over the past three years. “Thank You, Jesus!” she yelled
out. A startled Jarrod stopped crying and looked up at his mother for a second, before resuming.

Since her marriage, her cousins had followed suit and gotten married. To everyone’s shock, Jason’s playboy brother Ron married
Jaci’s cousin Anita. C.J. and the chief of police caused a stir when they decided to get married. And after a twenty-year
separation that had been viciously orchestrated by someone else, Gina reconnected with her son’s father, who was now a minister.
It was weird how they had all ended up with babies in one way or another.

The door opened and Jason carried in a beautiful floral arrangement. She sighed in relief as he walked over and kissed her.
“Hey, sweetheart! Flowers for a beautiful lady,” he said, kissing her again.

“Thank you, honey.” She blinked back tears. “They’re beautiful. Honey would you please get your son off of my leg. I have
just two hours to get everything ready.”

“I told you to use a caterer,” Jason admonished. “I don’t know when you’re going to learn to make things easy on yourself.”

“I know and I should have listened,” Jaci groaned.

Jason picked up Jarrod and held him above his head, talking to him all the while. “Man, why are you carrying on like this?
You’re not doing a good job of taking care of Mommy. We gotta talk about this.” He started into the family room, stooping
to pick up Jarea on the way. “Hey, little sweetheart. We have to work on your brother, don’t we?” Her smile caused all sorts
of meltdowns in Jason’s heart.

Later that night, after the meal, and after the last die-hard child closed his eyes in sleep, the men gathered in the family
room while the women took over the living room.

Jaci told her cousins about what she had been reflecting on all day. “Ya’ll, I’ve been thinking today about all that’s happened
over the past three years. Who would have thought we would all be married, with babies now?

“We are definitely in a new season. And I don’t know what this new season holds, but I’m so thankful that the cold, harsh
winter we were in so long is finally over. Remember how excited we were about all of our grandiose plans twenty-five years
ago? Then suddenly, we were all in the midst of a cold, stormy season that seemed to go on forever. If it hadn’t been for
God’s keeping power, I think we would have been totally destroyed.”

“I agree,” Gina said. “We were all almost destroyed during that season. We lost husbands and children, were beaten and abused,
abandoned, stalked, and nearly killed. Lord! I know the Word of God said we would have tribulations, but that was ridiculous!”

“Amen to that,” Anita added quietly. “But God is good! He has given us another season. Godly husbands, exciting vocations,
and another opportunity to raise Godly children.”

“Jaci, I thank God for you and Jason,” C.J. declared. “I don’t think the rest of us would have had the courage or faith to
try again if we hadn’t had you as a testimony of what God can do. I know I wouldn’t have been marrying nobody else,” she added
laughing. “God is awesome!”

“Yes, He is!” Jaci agreed. “I am so thankful that God brought us through those difficult times. But ya’ll know what? I’ve
discovered that in every season, there are blessings wearing different faces: enough joys to keep us thankful and enough troubles
to keep us praying. The important thing to remember is that whatever the season, trusting in God’s faithfulness is the only
way through it. If we didn’t experience the scorching heat of summer, and the harsh cold of winter, we wouldn’t appreciate
the refreshing spring and autumn seasons. The reality of life is, we have to go through every season, and only God controls
how long they last. Thankfully, He gives us the strength to endure.”