Waiting for an Answered Prayer
When I entered grad school, I met the man I now call my husband. I suppose that is where my journey with the Lord really began.
Growing up as a Christian, I got baptized in a Presbyterian church. I somehow managed my way through college amidst struggle and heartache but still lacked a spiritual relationship with God.
Nine months into my relationship with my now-husband, he was deployed to Afghanistan with his Army Unit. He spent ten months overseas while I was stuck here. Our relationship withstood the test of trials, people trying to tear us apart, and the physical distance that held us at a boundary. Somehow, we overcame the odds and were married ten months later.
“Why was something that came so easy and natural to so many such a difficult task for me?”
When my husband and I got married, we agreed that we weren't actively trying to have a baby; if it happened, it happened. After six months, there were still no signs of pregnancy, and my body and health started to demonstrate other changes: symptoms I hadn't seen before. I went through various tests, yet we still needed clear answers. More tests were done, and even more inconclusive results came back.
My husband eventually decided it was time to leave the Army, and we moved back to his home state of Michigan. It was there that I finally got some answers to my ongoing health complications. I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, PCOS, for short. PCOS had been the root cause of all my infertility issues.
Attempting to heal it, I researched and tried to mend my body naturally while also starting fertility treatments. I underwent eight months of fertility treatments, poked and prodded constantly but was eventually able to ovulate with the fertility treatments once my body was in a healthier state.
Why was something that came so easy and natural to so many such a difficult task for me?
During this time, I had a 40-minute commute to work. I would turn on the radio each day and listen to Christian Rock. Day in and day out, I would pray, cry, and plead with God to the tune of the radion. I begged God for a baby—to feel whole—to make my heart feel whole. Even though my prayers felt unanswered, I felt His voice nudge me, saying, "It's not time yet." The waiting season continued, but His word brought me peace and relief.
After more failed efforts, fertility treatments filled with medications, ultrasounds, injections, ovulation tests, one round of artificial insemination, and more negative pregnancy tests, the doctors gave us one option: IVF.
We decided it was finally time to stop what we were doing, step back, and pray about what God wanted us to do next.
At this time, we attended one of the Prophetic Presbytery services at Radiant, where guest pastors were present to offer prophetic words. As Pastor Lee explained what was about to happen, one of the pastors walked straight toward my husband and me.
His words are forever ingrained in my heart:
"You're a big guy," he said to my husband (he's 6'6" and about 295 pounds), "and I'm guessing there's probably not a lot of things you can't take on physically. But there is a burden and battle that you have been fighting that you can't handle on your own, that no amount of physical strength can overcome. God wants you to know you need to give it to Him."
I was shaken.
Soon after, we discovered I was pregnant with a beautiful baby girl. After 3.5 years of trying to conceive, we were blessed with our miracle baby. Reagan Grace is now five years old and worth every second of the wait and heartache. More importantly, she was worth waiting for so I could first build a relationship with God.
Even at five years old, she is the first to remind us at the dinner table to say our prayers and at night when we're tucking her into bed. That little girl knows just Who brought her to us.
Three years ago, we were blessed with a son, Jameson John, who was conceived without medical assistance. The birth of our second child only strengthens my belief that our struggle had a greater purpose.
It wasn't that we couldn't have kids, but that the Lord was waiting for the right place and time. I wasn't in the spiritual mindset to raise a family yet, but looking back, I can see that he was preparing me to be.
Do you feel your story can serve as a hope and inspiration to others? Share your story at mystory@radiant.church.