Tuesday, January 19, 2010

"What's up with the name?"


  
 Hey this is Zion, AKA; "Baby Z", just plain "Z", "Zi", or "Zi Zi" as my sister calls me.  I've even been known to be called "miracle man", "warrior" and "survivor!"  I will answer to just about any of them.  If I turn towards your voice at this point just expect only limited eye contact cuz I'm still trying to figure that one out.
     Anyhow, if you hadn't noticed my name is a bit on the unusual side of things.  Not your everyday Joe kinda name.  But, there's a reason for this and I'd like to explain if you would be so kind....
     You see just as my first few days of life "on the outside" started a little rocky.  My first few days "on the inside" were even a little rougher.
     I need to warn you, this is where the story gets a little sad and you may want to grab a kleenex.  I can assure you however, there is a happy ending!  Just keep reading!  Anyhow, on May 21st 2009 Mommy found out she was pregnant.  Unfortunately, just hours later she miscarried and ended up in the Emergency Room.  One sad part was that Daddy had to find out she was pregnant and having a miscarriage all at the same time. This is not the kind of phone call you want to receive in the middle of the day at work.  The weekend was really hard and Mommy spent a lot of time crying.
     Here's where the plot thickens....  Mommy went to her follow up appointment a few days later and the Dr. did a routine ultrasound to see if everything was as it should be.   Well, my mommy just about fainted when she heard the Dr. say..."I don't mean to send you on a roller coaster ride but you still have a baby with a heartbeat in there!!!"  Well as you can imagine my mommy was trippin, to say the least!  I'm sure out of pure shock the only words she could come up with were..." I drank a half a bottle of wine this weekend!"  The Dr. just laughed and reassured mommy it wouldn't give me a third eye or something and it quickly brought mommy back to reality.  The Dr. went on to explain that the baby that was lost was my twin.  Yep, I had a twin!!!  It's called "Vanishing Twin Syndrome" and is actually pretty common.  Look it up on the internet it's really interesting. Well as you can imagine the next phone call to Daddy started out with "Are you sitting down?"
"For the Lord has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling."
  Psalm 132:13
      Unfortunately, the Dr. warned Mommy and Daddy that the reality of me hanging around too was kinda slim.  For pretty much the next 8 to 10 weeks the Dr's. warned Mommy and Daddy that I may not make it.  A week after finding out about me my Mommy ended up in the ER again with very similar symptoms when they lost my twin.  Mommy just knew she was loosing me too!  But there I was with the strongest little ticker they ever saw!!  Obviously I proved all those Dr's. wrong too, cuz I hung on for dear life and at 39 weeks they finally had to make me come out!
"For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, 
and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.  
The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this." 
 2 Kings 19:31
     Do I know why my twin had to loose their life and I got to keep mine?  I do not.  I do know from what my Mommy had researched that if one twin is not as healthy as the other it could jeopardize the life and health of the other twin.  My Mommy and Daddy choose to believe that my twin had to give up their life so that I could live.  A nobel purpose indeed, if only for a brief eight weeks of life.  I look forward to the day when I will see my twin again in Heaven.  But until that time I thank God for allowing me the chance to live.
"Sing praises to the Lord, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done."  
Psalm 9:11
    Ok, ok, you are probably wondering where the name thing comes in.  So Mommy and Daddy decided since I had proven to have such a strong will to live it would only be fitting to choose a strong name for me.  The name Zion was one they instantly agreed on and it carries with it strong images such as "Mount  Zion" the Jewish "Promise Land" in the Bible.  For Rastafarians it means utopia or heaven on earth.
"Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever."  Psalm 125
     As you noticed there are several verses displayed throughout my story. We all learned a lot throughout this last season.  Mommy and Daddy learned to surrender and have faith and trust that God loves us all so much and wanted to reveal Himself and His love through my life.  I will end now with one of my Mommy's very favorite.



"From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth."  Psalm 50:2

1 comment:

Anna said...

I love how honest you are and how you share the verses through the story...I wish I had been blogging while pregnant with Holden when all we had to cling to was God's faithfulness when the Dr. told us we were most likely going to miscarry...I am SO glad Z made it and I am sorry for the loss of his twin, its something we will never understand. Looking forward to knowing "Z" :-)