The rest of the story

Last Thursday, May 7th, I wrote a post about the time in our marriage when Ellie and I saw things quite differently about a pregnancy that occurred while she had an IUD. This is an addendum to that post. We both feel it should be included in the reporting of what happened during those particular December and January weeks 32 years ago. If you didn't read the earlier post, scroll down now and read it before continuing, or go over in the left margin and click on the post titled “From one nut case to another.” Don't come back here until you've read it.

(Twiddling thumbs while you are away)

Okay, the story continues. We had a close relationship with the choir director and and his wife at our church; I sang in the 90-voice choir and was one of several pianists. Ellie and I had told no one, and I mean no one, about the pregnancy, our dilemma, or her miscarriage. (Back in the day, people were not as quick to blurt out the details of their lives as they seem to be today.) Ellie's miscarriage had occurred on a Monday evening. The following Sunday, the choir was not scheduled to sing in the evening service because The Hawaiians (Mark and Diane Yasuhara) were going to present a concert in our church. Since the church was often full a half-hour to an hour before services began, we arrived early. Our church had a U-shaped balcony and we decided to sit in the left front balcony. A few minutes later, the choir director and his wife came down the row, looked surprised to see us, and sat with us. As the church continued to fill with people, we found ourselves quietly sharing with our friends what had been happening with us over the past several weeks. They were even more surprised.

The choir director's wife suddenly said, “Oh, my Lord!” and then continued, “I just remembered. Let me tell you what happened to me about two weeks ago. I was coming down the stairs at home to make coffee and get ready to leave for work when the thought came to me, 'Ellie is pregnant, but it's not a pregnancy to be had.'” Because of all the busy activities of the holiday season, the four of us had not had an opportunity to be together in a setting that lent itself to bringing up the subject. She had thought only, “Where did that thought come from?” since we had not mentioned anything about a pregnancy, but she did pray for us. Ellie and I do not think this was merely woman's intuition at work. We believe that thought came from the Lord.

We include this addendum not to seem eerie or superspiritual or so that you can conclude that we and our friends are weird. Here's why we are including it. What our friend said to us was a strong confirmation that the Lord is indeed in control of every aspect of our lives, even the smallest details.

As Paul Harvey would say, and now you know the rest of the story.