Page 4 - Holiday Bonus 2021

s| AROUND MAIN STREET The best gifts
change our lives
By Michael Prochaska
With a birthdate of Dec. 23, I was a bonafide Christmas baby. And when my mother was discharged from the hospital, it was one of the few times in Georgia’s history that it snowed on Christmas day.
Thirty-two years later, Amanda and I are preparing to give birth to our first child. He/she (we are not revealing the gender until after delivery) is a miracle and a marvel of modern- day science.
Married young, Amanda and I had initially hoped to have a child in our 20s. But an infertility diagnosis stretched out our happy but also childless union for a decade. We do not regret that journey. There were times of profound grief (a miscarriage) and times of great joy (fostering two girls).
At our wedding, the minister recited Colossians 1:3-6, which states: In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God.”
What a beautiful verse that encapsulates life and marriage. That Scripture got us through a lot of times of difficulty and misfortune.
In March of this year, we tried once more to get pregnant through what’s called an IUI. I’ll spare you the details, but had it not worked, we would have had to wait several more years so that we could save money for a more invasive procedure.
That doctor’s visit resulted in a successful pregnancy. At either the end of December or the beginning of January, we are giving birth to what infertility experts call a “rainbow baby.”
A “rainbow baby” is a baby born after miscarriage or loss. Our rainbow baby will be the most treasured gift Amanda and I will ever receive.
The best gifts do not have to be wrapped and packaged. They are felt and experienced; they keep hope alive and restore our faith. The best gifts change our lives.
sMichael Prochaska is editor of OCONEE THE MAGAZINE and The Oconee Enterprise newspaper in Watkinsville, Ga.
Volume 12, Number 2 Holiday 2021
Supplement to The Oconee Enterprise Publisher
Maridee Williams
Editor
Michael Prochaska
Advertising Director
Maridee Williams
Contributing Writers
Michael Prochaska Justin Hubbard
Contributing Photographers
Michael Prochaska Justin Hubbard Matthew Brewster
Graphic Design
Allyn R. Jenkins Arlette Revells George H. Windate
Sales Representatives
Tracy Harmon Maridee Williams
Circulation
Maridee Williams
OCONEE THE MAGAZINE is published quarterly plus a holiday bonus issue
by Oconee Enterprise, Inc. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without express written consent of the publisher. This includes advertisements designed and produced by OCONEE THE MAGAZINE.
OCONEE THE MAGAZINE accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or artwork, and none will be returned without a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Address inquiries to:
P.O. Box 535, Watkinsville, GA 30677 or oconeethemagazine@gmail.com
© 2021 Oconee Enterprise, Inc. All rights reserved.
PAGE 2 | OCONEE THE MAGAZINE | HOLIDAY 2021