The Seven Sorrows of China, Part III

The very next day, he came to the town where his wife was. It happened to be Christmas morning. He felt sorrow for the pressure he had placed on his wife and wanted to make sure that both she and the baby were now safe. He feared losing his job and the fear had made him think they should abort the baby. But now he expressed gratitude for his wife’s wisdom in wanting to keep the child.

The doctors decided that Mrs. Niu should remain in the hospital until she delivered, as her situation was very serious. On the 26th, while Mrs. Niu was sleeping, the doctors came in to monitor the baby. They discovered the baby’s heart rate was very slow. They said to the father, "If we are going to save this baby, we need to do a C-section now! Will you sign the papers giving permission for this surgery?" He hesitated, not knowing the full implications of what was being said to him. But Mrs. Niu woke up when she heard "save the baby" and shouted to her husband "Sign it!!" They both signed the papers, and she was rushed to the emergency room. During surgery, they discovered that the placenta had completely detached itself from the uterine wall. They realized that if they had waited any longer they might have lost both mother and child. The C-section was performed, and the baby was safely delivered. They were able to present Mrs. Niu with her newborn son, 1.7 kg (3.7 lbs). They held the baby up to her and told her to kiss his little head before they sent him off to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The NICU at that hospital was full, so the newborn was transferred to another hospital, where he grew in size and health.

The husband was so happy that both were safe and that he now had a son. Once the baby was delivered and he could see that both were well cared for, he returned home. One week later, the mother-in-law called. She was crying on the phone and kept saying how sorry she was for trying to force her to abort the baby. Mrs. Niu responded with generous Christian forgiveness, as the mother-in-law kept repeating, "Thank you for having the baby."

The baby was in the hospital for 10 days. He was not completely out of the woods when he was released, but was in stable condition. Mrs. Niu was very vigilant in her care for him, and he got stronger and larger with each passing day. As Chinese Spring Festival approached, Mrs. Niu’s desire to return home got stronger and stronger. She was ready to be with her family again. She announced that she would return home for New Year. But she was advised to wait a little longer for the sake of the baby. She finally agreed to wait.

Later that day her husband called her with the frightening news, "Don’t come home!" The police, expecting her to come home for Spring Festival, were waiting for her at her door. Once again, she felt the hand of God watching out for her and protecting her and the baby. Her daughter, still missing her terribly, found a family member to take her to her mom to spend the Spring Festival with her. After Spring Festival ended, Mrs. Niu, the baby, Xiao Xiao, and the aunt all made their way back home. They did not return to Mrs. Niu’s home, but to another city not far away, where she can stay safely for a while. Everyone is presently well and thankful.

Ironically, the Mandarin Chinese linguistic character for the word "good" is the symbolic representation of a mother next to her child safely present. The Communist Government would do well to remember that it is good to protect, and not to destroy, the mother-child relationship if it truly seeks good for its people.

This article was excerpted from The Seven Sorrows of China, Queenship, September 2007, and is available from Queenship Publishing at 1-800-647-9882, www.queenship.org., or P.O. Box 220, Goleta, California, 93116, U.S.A.