subject: Coincidence? I think not! [print this page] Coincidence? I think not! Coincidence? I think not!
Being pregnant, you have to go for a lot of blood tests, scans, and doctors appointments. There was a scan I was supposed to be getting, but had put off for far too long. I was supposed to have the results with me at my doctors appointment on Thursday, yet found myself going to the clinic on Wednesday to see if I could make an appointment to get the scan. I normally would feel bad about being so irresponsible, but what happened when I got to the clinic showed me that I was in the exact place I needed to be at the exact time I needed to be there.
My friend Ayelet is a very special person. She's vivacious and loving, brilliant, and just downright funny. It also turns out that we are both pregnant, and our due dates are just two days away from one another. Therefore, running into her at the clinic was no surprise. I walked in and took my number waiting to be called, and stood in front of the door where they take blood tests. I saw Ayelet coming towards me, and smiled excitedly, glad I was getting the surprise opportunity to see her, but her face was strained and when she saw me she exclaimed, "Thank G-d you're here!", slammed into me, hugging me and sobbing. I was shocked, not knowing what the problem was, but I hugged her back, calming her down as best as I could, rocking back and forth. My mind was racing. What could be wrong? I thought maybe there was a problem with the baby or she had gotten other bad news, but for the first few minutes I couldn't get a word out of her. She was just shaking and crying. I sat her down and got her some water and she explained to me what had happened.
Ayelet's mother died of cancer just a few months before she got married (about six months ago) and Ayelet had gone through many years of doctors visits, blood tests, and pain. She hadn't had a blood test since her mother passed away and she told me that as the entered the clinic and went to get her blood taken, all of the memories of the doctors and the blood tests and the pain flooded back into her brain and she was about to literally run out of the clinic before she saw me.
I looked her in the eye and told her it was going to be okay, that I was here, that I would help her. And I also told her that what was happening now was the exact opposite of what had happened before. This was about life. These blood tests were about health and strength and havinga beautiful, perfect baby come into the world.
So she took a few breaths and another sip of water, we stood up, and we went back into the blood drawing room. She started to get tense again. She started shaking and getting overwhelmed, staring at the needle and I'm sure seeing her mother's face before her. I told her to look at me, to tell me about work, about her husband. I told her a joke. I told her she was doing so well, that I was so proud of her, that it was almost done. I told her to breathe, to keep focusing on me. And before we knew it, the technician had finished. We walked out. Victorious.
It was an amazing experience for both of us. My work as a birth coach has prepared me to calm frightened and overwhelmed women, and I felt that it was so clear that G-d had sent me to help Ayelet instead of sending anyone else. I wasn't just a friend. I was a friend with the exact skills and abilities that she needed in that moment. I was G-d's gift to her. She had endured such pain and sadness with her mother, and to go through all of that again, alone, He knew was unfair. So he sent me to help. To hug her and love her and support her when she really needed someone. And it wasn't just a hug from me, it was a hug from G-d. He was telling her, "You're not alone. I know this is going to be hard for you, so here's the perfect person to go through it with." And I had the merit to be that for her.
When Jews pray every day, we say many different prayers for health, success, knowledge, etc. We also give thanks and acknowledge G-d's presence in our lives. This story is a story of His being present, of His loving us and wanting the best for us. It could easily be thought of as coincidence. Of being in 'the right place at the right time'. But it was so much more than that. And knowing that made the experience so much more rich and beautiful for both of us. For those fifteen minutes I was doing exactly what G-d sent me to this Earth to do. And that feeling, my friends, is priceless.
