I notice a change. It's subtle and small, but big enough for me to notice and I wonder, "Could it be?" My heart dares to hope and dream while my mind cautions me to wait and see because it has learned that it's safer that way. Too many heartbreaks and disappointments to go jumping to conclusions. However, despite my mind's warning, I speak these hopes out loud to my husband and we hope and wonder together.
Days pass and the "monthly visitor" is now two days later than expected. Our hope grows. We decide that tomorrow, on Easter morning, we will take a pregnancy test. We wake on Easter, the day we celebrate when Jesus rose from the grave. The ultimate day of hope and life, and I see the results displayed on the screen: "Pregnant"!
After two miscarriages, another three years of trying and waiting - four years after we started this journey of trying to have a family, our hearts hope again.
In January of this year, after much prayer, we had decided to seek guidance from a fertility specialist. We felt peace about taking this next step, listening to that still, small voice, not wanting to take things into our own hands or rush God's timing. After completing the recommended testing and procedures, one of the doctors told us that we would not conceive naturally even though we had twice before. She then gave her treatment recommendations and I listened graciously while knowing and believing that God could do whatever He wanted.
Due to the costs associated with the treatment, we decided against moving forward right away because we felt we were not supposed to go into debt for the treatment. Instead, we decided to start saving money and to continue to try in the meantime. Our hearts hoped that God would just do it naturally, on His own, by His own means.
Inspired by a Bible study, Seamless, I was participating in at the time, I started asking God to "remember us". We were studying the Old Testament and had read about a couple different situations in which "God remembered" those involved and then something amazing happened.
On this journey of loss or longing, it can feel as if God has forgotten you. It's an easy lie to believe and I know I've fallen into that temptation countless times. If you are currently mourning a loss or are longing and still waiting, please know that you are not forgotten. He sees you (Genesis 16:3) and still has a plan (Jeremiah 29:11) even when it hurts or doesn't make sense.
Angie Smith, the author of Seamless, explains what it means when "God remembered":
"When we see Scripture use the phrase, 'God remembered', it doesn't mean He forgets. It means, 'He acts'." (p. 66)On Easter morning and the days that have followed, I have thanked God for "remembering us". I have thanked Him for doing it His way and in His timing (even though my heart longed for it years ago). I have thanked Him for this precious gift. And although, we do not know exactly what the duration of this pregnancy or the future holds, today we celebrate and say "thank you".
Photo Credits: JEEK Photography
