Odayne Rhoden grateful for ‘Tiny Kisses’

Gospel singer Odayne Rhoden is so filled with gratitude for what God has brought about in his life, that he recently released the single Tiny Kisses, which is a testament to the miracle that he and his wife experienced.

Married for seven years, the couple struggled with infertility for the greater part of their union.

It didn’t help that not even science was in their corner on the possibility of them being parents, as doctors told them having children would almost be impossible.

Rhoden said, at one point, they toyed with the idea of adoption, as they desperately wanted to be parents.

“After five years of trying, I decided in January 2019 to do 21 days of fasting and prayer, specifically asking God for a miracle on our behalf. On the last day of fasting and prayer, I declared victory, and wrote it across the prayer calendar, along with the passage of scripture that echoed the sentiments of our hearts 'For this child I have prayed and the Lord hath granted the desires of our hearts',” he shared.

Rhoden said he also activated his faith by going to a baby store in New York, where he and his wife purchased close to US$200 worth of boy clothes.

However, he still had to constantly encourage himself, as the following month there was no baby news. Both he and his wife Monique thought the good news would come in March, but instead the month brought the news that she had a brain tumour which required surgery.

“Doctors removed the tumour and Monique stayed home for six weeks to recover. We thought we were on our way to better days, but April and May went by and still no sign of what we prayed for in January. The pain and longing then started again. We wondered whether we would ever cradle our own bundle of joy,” he related.

Rhoden said, the first Sunday morning in June, he was awakened by the voice of the Lord telling him to “get up and go to church to pray now”. The time was 4:30 and he said he enquired of the Lord what he would be praying about and was told to just go to the church and pray.

When he got there, it was about 5 a.m.

“I remembered as I walked in the sanctuary, it was just me and God and I said, 'Navigate this prayer. As I pray, lead me to what you want me to pray about'. I realised that, as I was praying, I was praying specifically for us to conceive. After about an hour of prayer, I sat and waited to hear what God had to say. I then heard his still voice “Go tell your wife good news in June”.

Excitedly, he went home and gave his wife the news. By the third week of June, their expectancy level was high, but again came another blow after his wife did an MRI and the doctor told them that the brain tumour had returned - same location and same size.

“I looked up to God and said, ‘Lord you promised that we would have good news in June, how is this good news?’”

His wife looked at him and reminded him that June wasn’t over yet.

They were both right, as, after doing a pregnancy test, the result came back positive.

However, when they alerted the doctors that she was pregnant, they immediately dismissed it because of what the medical issues were. “They said that can’t be possible, and so after visiting and doing the test again, it was in fact true … we were having a baby. It was then the suggestion to abort came up. They were concerned that Monique wouldn’t survive the pregnancy. As a matter of fact, one doctor said it would take a miracle to past the first trimester. It was indeed a miracle because not only did we pass the first trimester, our baby went all the way to 37 weeks and was delivered naturally,” Rhoden shared.

Today, their son Mikhail, at one year old and full of life, is the joy of their hearts. He delivers ‘tiny kisses’, which is the inspiration behind the latest single, Tiny Kisses. It is a song that Rhoden has dedicated to his son who was born on February 7 last year.

Rhoden said what he wants listeners to take away from his song is that there is comfort, reassurance and hope in the Lord.

familyandreligion@gleanerjm.com