Growing up Grice...

Ezra Benjamin Grice

7 lbs 1 ounce; 20 ¾ inches

Born November 14, 2010 at 8:48pm

Upon scrubbing her hands pre-surgery and walking into the OR, the doctor’s assistant said it best: ‘It is true.’ Her response, in a thick, yet clearly understandable European accent, came immediately after hearing what Ezra’s name means in Hebrew: God helps.

And so it was with the delivery of our firstborn son. God helped doctors maneuver our breach (sideways) baby out of Mysea’s womb, in what was the ‘most difficult c-section of my 15 years,’ according to Dr. Tom, the amazingly gracious and sharp doctor on-call the night of November 14. God helped Mysea, well, survive what was not an easy surgery. Ezra was still rather high in his position in the birth canal, meaning the pressure Mysea felt when they wrangled him out was up around her lungs. Breathing was extra encumbered. And God helped me hold it together (not without a few fainting spells, I must admit) in what can only be described as a hyper-intense experience. Seeing your wife endure that kind of physical trauma is hard on the heart, to say the least. She is ever more my hero. Brave. Strong. A trooper. Yet full of gentleness and grace—truly, a thing of beauty.

All of it’s a moving testimony of God’s providence, His perfect will, and of course His unmatched goodness. We wholeheartedly believe God knew Ezra before he made his temporary home in Mysea’s comfy tummy, but even so, we knew sound physical health was nowhere near a given. So we are humbled, in our hearts, and to our knees. The Almighty God, to Whom is due all glory and honor, forever, saw fit to deliver Ezra and Mysea unscathed. As the Apostle Paul said, ‘Hard pressed, but not crushed. Persecuted, but never abandoned.’