When I Prayed, And The Answer I Got Was Wrong.

Have you ever had that experience when you had a choice to make in life whether it be something small or a huge life decision and you decided you should pray about what to do? Well most of us as members of the church I’m sure have done this several times. But have you ever had a strong impression to go in a certain direction just to find out later that it was the wrong choice? I know if you have had this experience it can be confusing and maybe even a little frustrating. Sometimes we wonder why did we feel the way we did and maybe can question ourselves or even the Lord.
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I experienced this while having my second baby. With my first baby I had to have a C-section when she was delivered and with my second baby I really wanted to try a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean). After talking with the doctors and praying about this slightly risky choice, we felt strongly that our answer was  we should try this. The doctors gave me a date of December 30th and I had to go into labor on my own by then or we would have to do a scheduled c-section. Well that day finally came and I still had not gone into labor. I was so sad as we got up early that morning and drove to the hospital for my c-section.

Before we left we said a prayer that everything would go well and according to the way God wanted it. There was a huge snowstorm that morning and I was so nervous I started having contractions. By the time we arrived I was convinced I had gone into labor on my own after all!! Sure enough when they checked I was! We were so excited to deliver our new baby boy in a natural way! Surely the Lord had answered my prayer and was telling me exactly which choice to make.

Everything was going great and just fine for the first 5 to 6 hours but after that I just stopped progressing. After another 6 hours of painfully trying, the doctors told me I would have to stop and have another c-section. I was so devastated.  I couldn’t believe the Lord would let me go through 12 long painful hours of trying just to result in something I was prepared to do earlier that day. I was so confused and couldn’t keep the tears back the entire time I was being operated on. I thought maybe I had not listened to the Spirit correctly. I was second guessing myself and I started wondering why the Lord would put me through this. Well I did get my answer. My sweet baby boy Mason arrived beautiful and healthy. Things were going great until the morning of January 1st when the doctors came in my room and told me that Mason was sick and they were taking him
to Primary Children’s hospital.

I didn’t understand and they told me that every baby should have a bowel movement their first 24 hours after being born and Mason had not done this. Something was wrong and if they didn’t do something quick it could end up making him very sick or die. Mason ended up staying up at Primary’s for just over a week. After a few weeks we started receiving all our hospital bills in the mail. We realized that his stay covered our out of pocket max for our insurance for the entire rest of the year. That meant that for all his other surgery’s and doctor visits for the rest of the year we didn’t have to pay anything else. I also found out that the entire hospital bill is billed from the day he was admitted into the hospital. There was the answer to my question that had been hanging over my head about the c-section. If I would have delivered Mason early in the morning that day on December 30th, 24 hours later he would have been admitted into the hospital on December 31st and that entire stay would have been billed for the previous year.

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This ended up saving us about $3000. So The Lord did answer my prayer. And even though at first I felt like I was sent down an incorrect path, it didn’t take very long to figure out it was just His way of sending me down the better path for our family.

Answers to prayers can be tricky things. Many times we have that peace of mind that our choice was correct and that what we are doing is right. This is wonderful. But sometimes we have that stupor of thought and don’t feel the way we were hoping or expecting. And sometimes we feel like we did follow our answers only to find out later that maybe they didn’t lead us down the path we were expecting at all. This is where trusting the Lord is so important. I know that if we put our faith in Him and follow the direction he guides us, everything will turn out great. It may not be the way you wanted to get there. Sometimes He needs to teach us lessons that could only be taught a certain way. Elder Holland talks about this in a video message I wanted to share. Please take a minute to listen to his words and as you experience times in your life where you may feel confused about the direction the Lord is taking you, remember to TRUST IN HIM. There is always a reason and you will always be so grateful for following your Savior. He will not lead you astray.