Wow!  Seeing Mother’s day yesterday made me think that I probably should continue my story.  The thing is that the next part of my story is where God unfolds mysteries in my life after years of heartache.  It is another very clear picture in my life of seeing His mighty hand move me.  So, I’ve thought long and hard about how to proceed with this blog.  I really want the words to leap out of the computer, into your hearts, and to encourage you, strengthen you, and stir your faith in Jesus Christ my Lord.  There are still times where I shake my head and think that things could not have really, truly happened as they did, but nevertheless, they were truly miracles unfolding in my life.

With my body suffering from grade 4 endometriosis, the doctors told me that the infertility issues would only rapidly progress in my body.  So, if I wanted to have another pregnancy, time was of essence.  So, as soon as we could, we resumed the process of blood testing, shots, and all of the fun of infertility treatments for about another year.

Around September 2005, the doctors wanted us to think of proceeding on to In Vitro fertilization (IVF).  We had some savings that we were holding up just for that possibility and we had every intention to move on with IVF if that is what the Lord would have for us.  However, when it came time to make that decision, I could not get a peace about it.  For some reason, it just didn’t seem right for us.

After much prayer and thought, David & I made the decision to keep Emily as an only child and to cancel all infertility medications, tests, and treatments.  Our worldly mindsets brought us comfort in thinking that we could spoil the socks off of an only child without the burden of further financial demands.  Ha!  The joke was on us 🙂  Of coarse, God had other plans for our lives, but He let us live that dream for a couple of months!

You might be thinking…  I’ve heard this story over and over…  you got pregnant as soon as you stopped trying…  But, that is not what happened…

At the time, we were attending a very large church that had multiple young married age classes.  One day, a respected leader in the church made an announcement in our class.  I’m sure he made that announcement in several classes and perhaps his message and choice of words was the same in each, but God orchestrated his exact words in our specific class that day.  He stood at the front of the class and announced that an Adoption and Foster Care group was forming at the church and shared their plans for their first meeting.  He said, “If you have ever thought of adopting, have adopted, are currently in the process of adopting, or ever think you might consider adopting, come to the meeting!”

We had already arranged for a date night the night of the meeting and had babysitting in place.  As we talked about it together, we agreed that if we ever might consider adopting, say…  5 years down the road, it might be nice to have some preliminary understanding and information on the topic.  We really didn’t have any other plans for the evening besides grabbing a meal out together, so we decided to go.

The meeting was very informal and consisted of testimony after testimony of adoption stories and how adoption and fostering has blessed the lives of many different families within our church.  They were heartfelt and moving stories of how God brought families together.  So, on November 6, 2005, David & I left the meeting with thoughts that perhaps, in 5 years or so, we would possibly adopt.  However, neither of us felt that the time was then…  just possibly someday.

But, when God has a plan, may His Will be done…

David could not sleep that night.  He tossed and turned as God brought the pictures and stories over and over through his mind.  He prayed, read the Word, and could not sleep that night as he wresteled with God over adoption.  When I awoke the next morning, David was anxiously awaiting.  Funny thing is that when I woke up, my immediate thoughts were that we were supposed to adopt.  Not in 5 years…  Now.  Those were our first words to each other on the morning of November 7, 2005.