DO YOU SMELL THAT? > At the end of this story, it gives you two options. > > I think you will figure out what option I chose. > > > A cold March wind danced around the dead of night in Dallas > > as the doctor walked into the small hospital room of > > Diana Blessing. She was still groggy from surgery. > > Her husband, David, held her hand as they braced themselves > > for the latest news. > > > That afternoon of March 10, 1991, complications had forced > > Diana, only 24-weeks pregnant, to undergo an emergency > > Cesarean to deliver couple's new daughter, Dana Lu Blessing. > > > At 12 inches long and weighing only one pound nine ounces, > > they already knew she was perilously premature. > > Still, the doctor's soft words dropped like bombs. > > > "I don't think she's going to make it," he said, as kindly > > as he could. > > > "There's only a 10-percent chance she will live through the > > night, and even then, if by some slim chance she does make > > it, her future could be a very cruel one." > > > Numb with disbelief, David and Diana listened as the doctor > > described the devastating problems Dana would likely face > > if she survived. > > > She would never walk, she would never talk, she would > > probably be blind, and she would certainly be prone to > > other catastrophic conditions from cerebral palsy to > > complete mental retardation, and on and on. > > > "No! No!" was all Diana could say. > > > She and David, with their 5-year-old son Dustin, had long > > dreamed of the day they would have a daughter to become a > > family of four. Now, within a matter of hours, that dream > > was slipping away. > > > But as those first days passed, a new agony set in for > > David and Diana. > > > Because Dana's underdeveloped nervous system was > > essentially 'raw', the lightest kiss or caress only > > intensified her discomfort, so they couldn't even cradle > > their tiny baby girl against their chests to offer the > > strength of their love. All they could do, as Dana > > struggled alone beneath the ultraviolet light in the tangle > > of tubes and wires, was to pray that God would stay close > > to their precious little girl. > > > There was never a moment when Dana suddenly grew stronger. > > But as the weeks went by, she did slowly gain an ounce of > > weight here and an ounce of strength there. > > > At last, when Dana turned two months old, her parents were > > able to hold her in their arms for the very first time. And > > two months later, though doctors continued to gently but > > grimly warn that her chances of surviving, much less living > > any kind of normal life, were next to zero, Dana went home > > from the hospital, just as her mother had predicted. > > > Five years later, when Dana was a petite but feisty young > > girl with glittering gray eyes and an unquenchable zest for > > life. She showed no signs whatsoever of any mental or > > physical impairment. Simply, she was everything a little > > girl can be and more. But that happy ending is far from the > > end of her story. > > > One blistering afternoon in the summer of 1996 near her > > home in Irving, Texas, Dana was sitting in her mother's lap > > in the bleachers of a local ball park where her brother > > Dustin's baseball team was practicing. > > > As always, Dana was chattering nonstop with her mother and > > several other adults sitting nearby when she suddenly fell > > silent > > > Hugging her arms across her chest, little Dana asked, > > "Do you smell that?" > > > Smelling the air and detecting the approach of a > > thunderstorm, Diana replied, "Yes, it smells like rain." > > > Dana closed her eyes and again asked, "Do you smell that?" > > > Once again, her mother replied, > > "Yes, I think we're about to get wet. It smells like rain." > > > Still caught in the moment, Dana shook her head, patted her > > thin shoulders with her small hands and loudly announced, > > > "No, it smells like Him. > > > It smells like God when you lay your head on His chest." > > > Tears blurred Diana's eyes as Dana happily hopped down to > > play with the other children. > > > Before the rains came, her daughter's words confirmed what > > Diana and all the members of the extended Blessing family > > had known, at least in their hearts, all along. > > > During those long days and nights of her first two months > > of her life, when her nerves were too sensitive for them to > > touch her, God was holding Dana on His chest and it is His > > loving scent that she remembers so well.