So here I am, four months pregnant, eight years to the date that doctors told me we would have trouble conceiving. I can tell you how I felt that day the doctors told me that it wouldn’t be easy for us to have children. I can also tell you how I felt this spring, just four days after Mother’s Day, when we heard the words, “You are pregnant”.Despite how I felt then and what I heard that day, the miracle was in motion eight years ago too.This month, eight years later, I celebrated my thirty-third birthday with our dearest friends and shared the news that I am now carrying our first child. Since my twenty-fifth birthday we have been “waiting” for the day we would carry this miracle. And now it’s here and so much has happened within the season of waiting. We have planted a church in the heart of Miami, traveled the world sharing the hope of Jesus and nine nephews and nieces have been born in our family. It hasn’t been an easy road but it has been a journey I would never take back.
I’m celebrating the new life growing within me but also thankful that Jesus has revealed himself as my promise throughout this journey. Our lives have not been on pause for the last eight years but rather we have discovered and rediscovered who God is and who we are in Him in the midst of the wait. And I have found that the presence of God is enough in every season.We celebrated Vision Sunday today at VOUS Church. The theme this year is Miracle in Motion. The truth is the miracle we are walking in today has been in motion all along. God’s hands have been orchestrating every detail, and it started long before we heard the good news of pregnancy. I have seen the miracle in motion in times of prayer, in the prayers of people around the world, the protection of our marriage, and in the peace of God that passes all understanding. Is that not a miracle? The faithfulness of God in every season is not static. It fills every crevice of our world with hope, energy and strength! There is a miracle in motion in your life.
“What happened to make the miracle?” you may ask. I think I have learned when it comes to our God, that is the wrong question.“What did you learn about God in the process?” is the question I have learned to ask in the wait. The answer exposes a depth of grace that feeds the soul and anchors the heart. Is a miracle ever really just one moment? When it comes to the creator of the universe does he not weave every moment seamlessly into the next, making it impossible to decipher when a miracle begins and ends? As people of faith we have the unique privilege to partner with our creator as he puts miracles in motion every day. It's an opportunity I’m so thankful I didn’t shove aside or take for granted on my waiting journey. Yes, I want to have a baby but Jesus is my treasure, and if I never have a child he will still be just as good as if I had ten children.In the Bible the number eight signifies new beginnings. In my life I don’t find anything to be coincidental. Our God is far too intentional with all of creation for me to think anything is happenstance. So I laugh and smile at the fact that our miracle came to fruition after exactly eight years. Later than expected, but not late. Hindsight is 20/20 and the last eight years have been rich with the faithful perfect timing of God.
I have one more thought to share. I knew from the moment I met Rich he was going to be an incredible father. The first time I laid eyes on him he was playing with some small kids at church, making them laugh, putting all his attention and energy towards their entertainment. Many times we simply focus on the woman when it comes to infertility but it takes two people to walk the journey. I’m thankful today for a husband who always has pointed my eyes to Jesus. Always speaking faith, always supporting and encouraging me. The conversations over the years were never ones of defeat or self-pity but of hope and a deep awareness of all that God has already done. I’m beyond grateful for the miracle of a husband who loves me and loves God even more.I will share much more over the coming months but for now, lets just say THE BEST IS YET TO COME.