Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Luke 12:6-8, NIV.

With a heavy heart I entered the cesarean birthing suite to deliver Cindy's tiny baby almost four months prematurely. After trying to conceive for many years without success, she saw her pregnancy as truly an answer to prayer. How could Cindy and Greg consent to this delivery, a virtual death sentence for Tara Jo, the baby they had anticipated for years?

For weeks Cindy's blood pressure had been gradually creeping upward to now-hazardous levels. Her kidneys showed profound injury from the worsening pre-eclampsia. Her severely swollen body showed the effect of gaining 30 pounds in 30 days. And now the dreaded headaches indicated changes to her brain's circulation that threatened her very life. Yet not only was Cindy's life in the balances, but so was Tara Jo's. Cindy's high blood pressure had so diminished the flow of vital nutrients to her uterus that Tara Jo had stopped growing in the womb. Both mom and babe would die! The delivery must take place.

Tara Jo weighed only 1 pound 1 ounce at birth. I had never seen any baby survive who was so tiny and so immature. The air sacs in her lungs had barely started to form. Her intestinal tract would not be ready for oral feedings for many months. The fragile blood vessels in her brain could so easily bleed, resulting in blindness, deafness, and cerebral palsy. Germs could easily overwhelm her immature immune system, resulting in a fatal infection. "Lord," I prayed, "You worked a miracle in her conception. Don't let Tara Jo die!"

After 100 days of intensive special nursery care and multitudes of intensive prayers on her behalf, Tara Jo left Loma Linda University Medical Center needing only low-flow oxygen.

Today, as I held Tara Jo in my arms at her dedication service, my mind went back to that agonizing night nine months ago. With eyes alert, hearing intact, and developmental landmarks on course, Tara Jo is a living testimony to the partnership of dedicated, highly trained health-care professionals working together with an infinitely loving Creator, who takes note of even the littlest sparrows that fall.

Praise You, Lord, for miracles great and small.

Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.