And this new little baby growing in my belly is proof...
God has taught me some very valuable lessons over the past years:
1. Trust in Him-- not just some of the time, ALL of the time.
2. Pray to Him--again, not just some of the time, ALL of the time.
3. Believe in Him--claim His promises, ALL of the time.
4. Love Him--even when we don't like the answer, ALL of the time.
5. Praise Him--no matter the outcome, ALL of the time.
Watch...God will perform miracles in your life. He does every day, but sometimes we are "too busy" to notice his work in our lives. I am very guilty of this, I am not perfect, and I fall short of my list above everyday. I go through each day, rushing around in the mornings to get ready for the day, plugging away at work from 7:15 to 4:15, picking up the kids from daycare...all along not even noticing the "little" things God has done for me. Not to mention the HUGE things He has done such as...allowing us to get pregnant without ANY fertility treatments or medicines.
About 7 months ago, I got serious about my eating and weight loss. Yes, weight loss, I STILL had not lost all of my baby weight from the twins when I had them...4 years ago! I joined a group called Versus at the end of 2012, but I really didn't take it seriously until January of 2013. God put a very special person in my life, Jamie, to whip me into shape...and that she did! At the beginning of the year, I competed in challenges, was clean eating all the time, running 6 miles, lifting 35# kettle bells, doing 100 push-ups in a day...needless to say, I was in the best shape of my life. I was doing what I should have been doing for years..."Treating my body as a temple of the Holy Spirit...and honoring God with my body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) I honestly believe God performed a miracle in me because I was truly honoring Him in all that I did. God knows the desires of our hearts, and He knew that there was no way our family would attempt the stress of fertility treatments again. He has a plan, and it's always better than our plans.
Rewind about 6 1/2 years when I was diagnosed with Stage 4 endometriosis and a cyst the size of a grapefruit on my ovary. An extensive surgery a couple of weeks after the diagnosis, and I was on the road to being well and free from pain. However, even after having that done, we still were not able to get pregnant. As many of you may have read back to our first post http://jerryandbethaniedefatta.blogspot.com/2009/08/in-beginning-there-were-two.html we tried just about everything possible before IVF to get pregnant, and nothing seemed to work. So, we took the next steps in proceeding with IVF with a doctor by the name of Dr. Hines. He is an amazing, wonderful doctor, and is someone I would recommend to anyone having fertility issues. He is a great Christian man and truly wants the best for his patients. I remember meeting with him for the first time...I was very unsure as what to expect. I heard he was a "tell it like it is" man, blunt and to the point...and that he was. While some would not like that in a doctor, I absolutely loved it about him. The first appointment was the usual "look at your chart, discuss your fertility issues, explore your options, and make a plan." It was an overwhelming visit in that after a short discussion with him, Dr. Hines response was:
"You are going to have to do IVF, I do not see another option for you"
As you can imagine, we were devistated, upset, and many other emotions that ran through our minds. It is all still vivid in my mind. You know the rest of the story...we proceeded with IVF, God provided the way the whole time, and we have two beautiful daughters that have stolen our hearts!
Now that we are pregnant again, the statement Dr. Hines made still stands out in my mind. It is a constant reminder that God is completely and fully in control, and that we should NEVER doubt his ability to perform miracles in our lives. Jerry and I never thought in a million years that we would be where we are today, and I am so thankful that God reminds us of his omnipotence. When I start to worry or doubt, it never fails I receive a text, e-mail or something that is a reminder of God being in control and to trust Him.
I am still wonderstruck by God and what he has done, and I would love to share with anyone our road of struggles with infertility and how God has proven to be faithful.
I once heard the quote: "My greatest limitation is God's greatest opportunity." He sure proved that with this baby!!
"God performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, and miracles that cannot be counted." Job 5:9
I once heard the quote: "My greatest limitation is God's greatest opportunity." He sure proved that with this baby!!
"God performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, and miracles that cannot be counted." Job 5:9
