Praying for Babies

Heather Snowdon & baby Praying for Babies

Heather Snowdon, who has been fostering babies for many years,
tells of the wonderful results she has experienced in praying for
troubled or sick babies

"Suffer little children to come unto me" (Mk 10:14)

I can't say that my motive for becoming a foster mother was particularly pious. I have always loved babies and much to the delight of our own four children we were approved and our first foster baby arrived. The surge of love I felt for this two-day-old baby knocked me for six. The loss I felt when he left us to be adopted was overwhelming. I vowed not to love another baby like that again - it hurt too much.The little ones came to us from the Catholic Children's Society, mostly hours old, mostly from Irish girls giving birth in England and returning secretly home again. The 'good-bye' visit from the young mother to her new baby never became commonplace. We sat and cried together. Joy followed as the adopters met 'their' child for the first time and then the hurt again as it was our turn to say' good-bye' to the baby we had grown to love as our own. Yes, I loved them totally, not keeping to my vow, because Jesus told me to.

After a couple of years this work I loved began to take on a new and different dimension. One early morning I was watching it get light with a six week old baby on my shoulder. I was exhausted because he was restless and never slept and I started crying. I remember praying, 'Lord, help me here. I have nothing left to give.' To my amazement I sensed or heard a voice. I was told that he had a spirit of fear and I prayed for his freedom. Again to my amazement this little baby slept for twenty-four hours only waking for an occasional feed. He had been exhausted too from his difficult beginning, and now he was free. I needed to find out more of what I had experienced and so began a steep learning curve for me.

The next baby to arrive was a little girl. From the first night I laid her in the crib I sensed death around her. For two weeks I prayed for her protection, often watching her anxiously. I prayed for an understanding. The next day I learned from her mother that she had visited a spiritualist whilst pregnant and was told that either she or her baby would die. That night I prayed for the curse to be lifted. No one ever knew about these precious times of prayer. I was beginning to have a reputation with the social workers as the lady who has 'such good babies'. A six-month-old baby boy came with severe eczema that was not responding to medication. I prayed daily

and after two weeks his skin was clear. His social worker wrote 'the peaceful atmosphere in the Snowden household gave baby 'x' permission to get well'!!! Around this time and without much understanding I found myself going to another church. For the first time I could share this work with my church family and I began to see more of what Jesus may have meant by 'Suffer little children to come unto me.' There are many lovely stories I could share from this time but I will finish with the most recent and use it as an example of His love in action.

Baby J came last Christmas to us. She was bom to a heroin addict, onto the pavement on a freezing cold day. I was uncertain whether to take her as we already had another baby with us and so I asked others to pray. It had taken some time for me to share this ministry with others, to believe that they were sufficiently interested and loved me enough to care. I have confidence in my priest - he listens to God for me - and we took baby J. My church prayed for her and for me regularly. The two babies came to Communions and prayer times and had hands laid on them from the beginning. They were anointed, loved and cherished and publicly dedicated to God with their mothers' permission.

During this time baby J was diagnosed with hepatitis C and having already seen her healed from the effects other mother's addiction we began to pray. One Monday during Communion my priest. Bishop Sean, prayed for her. I witnessed power going into her as he prayed.. .1 felt it. She was retested a month later...twice.. .and now she does not have hepatitis C. When I think now of 'Suffer little children to come unto me' I think of the babies who have stared transfixed at the crucifix on my lounge wall; I think of little hands raised in worship copying the adults; I think of one little boy who seemed drawn to the Eucharist from being only months old; I think of all the photos of the babies on Bishop Sean's kitchen wall, of the baptisms and dedications; I think of the healings and changed lives; I think of other families who have come forward in our church to foster; I think of the evident capacity of these little ones to believe and to wonder; but mostly I think of Joshua, baby number thirty two, asleep in the crib at eleven days old, innocent, trusting, gentle and unique. I wonder how his life will touch ours, as he becomes a part of this church family. I smile when I hear people say that we don't see miracles in our country - we do!

Every life is a miracle, bom and unborn, and at the hands of the faithful we are witnessing in our church the great commission in and through the lives of these babies.

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