Angels on Call

I remember the day the doctor told me I would never have children. I had just turned twenty and was newly married. I had always dreamed of being a mom, so those words shattered me. After much prayer, my husband and I decided to pursue infertility treatments. The physical and emotional toll was overwhelming, and trusting God felt like riding a roller coaster, clinging tightly at times and letting go at others.

Three years later, God answered my deepest prayer: I was pregnant. Joy filled my heart. However, during my first OB-GYN appointment, I experienced labor pains and feared I was miscarrying. The doctor suspected the worst, but the ultrasound showed a healthy heartbeat. Psalm 46:10 carried me through. At eight months, our daughter Ashley Elizabeth was born.

On Ashley’s first birthday, I found out I was pregnant again. At five months, I was diagnosed with an incompetent cervix and hospitalized. My doctor said, “You will have the baby in two days…and you need to plan a funeral.” I was devastated. I called my pastor, and we agreed we couldn’t plan a funeral while her heart was still beating. After a week, an ultrasound showed our baby girl was still growing, now weighing one pound. My doctor said they would try to save her.

Social workers and doctors prepared me for the worst: severe disabilities, a lifetime of challenges. I didn’t know how to pray. If she died, she’d be with Jesus, but if she lived, life could be hard. All I could ask for was God’s will.

At twenty-five weeks, I went into labor. The doctor said, “If she’s crying, we’ll do what we can. If not, we won’t.” In 1986, few babies born this early survived. But before they wheeled me back, God’s peace overwhelmed me. Amazingly, Audrey Charlene entered the world screaming, weighing one pound, eight ounces. God answered her first prayer with a cry.

But in the NICU, the sound of a flatline sent doctors rushing to her side and me back to my room in tears. I turned to Scripture, and God gave me John 14:27. Moments later, the nurse came in—Audrey had started breathing again.

Before she came home, I prayed over her and saw a vision of her in God’s hands. Four months later, she came home, miraculously healthy.

Today, Ashley is a practicing OB-GYN, and Audrey is a missionary in Argentina. To God be the glory!

By Tamara Hester Battaglia

Whisper Jesus’ name and trust him with all your heart’s desires and dreams.