White Coat Syndrome

Do you have White Coat Syndrome? I think I do. What is WCS, you ask? Well, it’s difficult to explain. WCS manifests itself as nervous motions, high blood pressure, and paranoia. Thankfully, this is not a disease that affects me all of the time. It only affects me when I walk into a doctor’s office.

Now let me clarify for a moment: I am in no way seriously ill. Some actually do suffer from iatrophobia, which is the fear of doctors. I do get a little nervous, but I’m not debilitated (although it may feel that way).

Why do I bother to mention any of this? Well, if I was nervous going to the doctor before, I’m definitely nervous going to the doctor now with my expectant wife. Every time we go I can’t help but worry a little about what might be found.

This is especially true today. We are going to have the “big” medical ultrasound done, you know, the one where they measure all of the internal organs, check for extremities and gender. I’m just praying that everything is there that needs to be there and nothing that shouldn’t be is.

I started thinking, though… what if?

What if our baby doesn’t have arms?

What if our baby’s heart is under or over sized?

What if?

To say that having a child on the way changes your prayer life is an understatement. I’ve been praying for things lately that I never imagined that I ever would. But what if things don’t turn out the way that I want them to? Will I blame God? Will we take matters into our own hands?

There’s one verse that stands out to me from Daniel 3. In verse 17, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (you would know them better as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego) affirm that God has the power to deliver them from the furnace. Look at the trust in verse 18, though:

(18)  But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up."

But if not…

They went forward in faith, but with the understanding that for reasons which they may not understand, despite having the power, God may not deliver them from the furnace. But, even if they perished in the furnace, they realized they were making a statement to Nebuchadnezzar and all the Chaldeans. They were going to trust the God of Heaven above all else.

My wife told me about a woman who had a strong impression on her young mind some years ago. My wife had some young, “enlightened” friends who were discussing abortion with a friend’s mother. This woman was vehemently, and correctly, opposed to abortion. The young girls thought they had her trapped with this question:

“What if the baby is threatening your life, won’t you abort it?”

They were sure she’d answer yes. To their surprise, she answered, “No.” That has stuck with my wife for all of her life. Consistency.

Psalms 36:5-9 NKJV
(5)  Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
(6)  Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O LORD, You preserve man and beast.
(7)  How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
(8)  They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
(9)  For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.

~Daniel Howell

P.S. – I wrote this before we went to the doctor this morning. For all those who are curious, we got a good report – the baby even had “praying hands”! We still don’t know definitively yet whether it is a boy or girl. We’ll keep you posted.