Encouragement for those waiting for a baby miracle

[djemanuel]

I'm not sure why, but I felt led to post this testimony of God's goodness.

My wife and I have been married for 22 years. We love Jesus and have found incredible rest in His love and care. But over the entire time of our marriage we have been unable to conceive a child. We have prayed, had others pray, done the ENTIRE infertility process, and prayed some more. But after fifteen years we realized it was our priviledge to adopt two children, which we did in 1994 and 1995. We LOVE them so much and realized that in fact God's perfect plan for us included a beautiful little girl named Emma and an incredible boy named Aaron.

But the story does not end there. I know many of you may believe this is a Jesus-freak kind of a letter and that's o.k., because I write it for the benefit of those few who desperately need to see God's hand in whatever form their heart desires Him to.

During those fifteen years of hope, discouragement, prayer and waiting, times were tough. It was just hard to understand. At one point in 1990 I was listening to a song by a singer named Bryan Duncan..."A child's love" As I listened I pulled over and cried from the depth of my heart as Bryan sang:

"Don't let me live without a child's love, like the love in this child of mine. Teach me dear Lord to have a love for you..a child's love." He continued...

I watched my red-haired inspiration playing games out on the lawn, such an innocent joy in living, he's his father's only son....

At that I just wept thinking of perhaps never having a son. The thought of seeing a red-haired boy playing in our yard angered me so much and I blurted out in anger to God "how could you be so cruel to us?"

Well, five years later...we received a phone call from our adoption counselor. She said, "D.J., I know you just adopted Emma last year, but you also said you hoped to also have a son one day." Do you still feel that way? Because we have the most incredibly beautiful little boy who was just born yesterday....He has the most beautiful red hair...

Well, God was faithful to me even in 1990 when I lashed out in anger to Him. He knew the plans he had for me, for us, for Aaron. HE KNOWS THE PLAN HE HAS FOR YOU AS WELL. Five years later we brought Aaron home....overwhelmed with God's kindness to us.

In closing...

Since that time we have fallen deeper and deeper in love with our children, with God and with each other. But another incredible thing was yet to come. Eighteen months ago, at 1:00 A.M., I was in a men's bible study at a friend's house. The meeting had lasted a long time and now there were only three of us left. We had just moved to town and a man I had never met spoke up and said:

"I know I don't know you, but I believe God has told me He wants you to know He is going to give you a son." I was pleasant, but thought...yea, whatever. I've heard that before. But of course, I simply smiled and went home. The next day my wife asked me how it went last night. I smiled and told her of the 'word' I had been given from this stranger. We just smiled and went on with life.

Well, I realize you probably know where this is going, but some months later my wife announced to me while crying uncontrolably on a Sunday morning...."I'm pregnant!!"

To end the story...Joseph was born October 5th, 2002. My wife and I are 43 years old and Joseph was and is in perfect condition. We were told we would never conceive and came to believe it over time. Well, 22 years later at a time when neither of us should be able to "do the stuff..smile" Joe-Joe comes along. Go figure.

Anyway, we are blessed beyond anything I can share here. But I write for you, to encourage you, to tell you not to lose hope, and to enourage you to remember life is so much more than the weight we need to lose. It is about the condition of our heart. I can speak with experience as I am a Phenster as well...smile.

But, seriously, I write this for each of you who are:

* Waiting for an unfulfilled prayer or desire
* Broken hearted in longing for a miracle of some
kind
* Losing heart in believing God loves you

We have no formulas, no testimony of how God did this because we did that...All we have is the true story of how God proved to us that yes, He is faithful and that He was faithful to us even when we doubt him, are angered towards Him and have lost hope in some way. You see, God is secure. He can handle your thoughts. The question is...Can we handle His love and do we trust Him even when the evidence is not seen?

Be encouraged. Ask Him for grace. Ask Him for hope. But above all, ask Him into your heart. I know not all our hopes are fulfilled and our story is not intended to say all will receive as we did. But we know that God is not a respecter of persons and that he has said to us all:

"For I know the thoughts I have for you, say's the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you a hope. And you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

Our thoughts and prayers are for each of you. Because like you, I struggle with my weight. But life is so much more than that...so much more more.

Blessings,

DJ :)
Jeremiah Chapter 29, verses 11-12

[RoxanneRoxanne]

DJ, thanks so much for sharing this story! I really needed this today. God bless!

[Frif]

I agree.. this is such a wonderful story. I can totally understand where you are coming from, you have been truly blessed! Thanks for sharing

[Dancer4God]

"Hey Dj"

AWESOME!!!!!!! Testamony!!!!!!!!!!

Man I am sitting here wepting right now that was just what I needed to wake up to this is How God is still in the miracle bussiness Hey man I am a Jesus freak as well I belive it man ther is nothing to big for My God, its just in his timeing not ours I can't tell you how happy I am for you and your wife and family hey man that just goes to show that if we are faithful to him he will bless us without messager :D WOW KEEP ON KEEPING ON FOR JESUS!!!!!!!!

WE HAVE A LADY IN OUR CHURCH SHE IS I THINK AROUND 43 OR 44 AND HER AN D HER HUSBAND HAVE NO KIDS AND SHE WANTS ONE SO BAD SHE IS BORNAGAIN BUT HER HUSBAND IS NOT SHE IS STILL BELIEVEING AND SHE HAS ALSO HAD WORD OVER HER MAN WOULD YOU AND YOUR CHURCH BE PRAYING FOR HER (THERESA) IS HER NAME THANK YA MAN YOU JUST KEEP ON TELLING EVERYONE YOUR TESTAMONY THAT IS AWESOME AND I KNOW IT IS A GOD THING :) LATER KAREN

[Melmin]

Thank you Thank you Thank you....

I cant tell you how much I appreciate your testimony. Amen!!!! Thank you Lord!!! You are awesome and you always come in time!!!

[Faye]

I think you were led to post this for me. I've had 3 medical related miracles in my life, so I know what God can do, but my baby miracle has not shown up.

I suffered 30 years with deformed knees, and God healed them. I couldn't even stand for 5 minutes w/o pain. Now they are perfect.

I suffered 20 years with a bad hip and God healed that as well. No more hip pain!!!

I blew my back out one day, and needed to go by ambulance to the hospital because the discs were touching bone-on-bone in my lower back, and I couldn't sit down, only stand or lay down.....so I couldn't take a car ride to the hospital. I knew this was going to mean emergency surgery. Anyway, I felt led not to call 911 and God healed my back that night.

But.....as I said, my baby miracle has not shown up. My grandmother died two years ago before our very eyes.

Right after that moment, my DH told me that the Lord spoke to him and told him we are going to have a Son. Well, this wasn't news to me, because his father had a dream years ago that we were going to have a son, and a few other things have happened that led us to believe that.

Anyway, we didn't tell anyone about what happened when my grandmother died, but I asked my sister recently if she received any word from the Lord at the moment my grandmother died 2 years ago.....and oddly enough, she said these very words....."You are going to have a son." She even blurted those words out instantly, and did not even need to take a moment to try and remember back to that day.

Although I felt encouraged at the time she told me that, it's just been way too long of a time frame for me. Heck, I unwisely thought I would be pregnant right after my grandmother died!

Well, we have been waiting 7 years total now and I must admit that I am kind of giving up. I am 47 years old, and although I know that doesn't matter when it comes to God doing something, I am really tired of wondering each time my TOM is due.

Believe it or not.....this is truly the first time I have ever really given up believing, and the same day I gave up, I opened this thread!!! Which leads me to believe.....that I must keep believing!

I do feel this way.....if God wants me to have a baby I will, and if not.....I won't. I truly don't want to suffer emotionally anymore over this, but I still do.

Your post has encouraged me....22 years is a very long time. I guess that makes my 7 years seem like almost nothing.

Thanks for posting this. I do have one very strange question.....Is there any particular reason that you named your son, Joseph?

[djemanuel]

Originally posted by Faye:
I think you were led to post this for me. I've had 3 medical related miracles in my life, so I know what God can do, but my baby miracle has not shown up.

I suffered 30 years with deformed knees, and God healed them. I couldn't even stand for 5 minutes w/o pain. Now they are perfect.

I suffered 20 years with a bad hip and God healed that as well. No more hip pain!!!

I blew my back out one day, and needed to go by ambulance to the hospital because the discs were touching bone-on-bone in my lower back, and I couldn't sit down, only stand or lay down.....so I couldn't take a car ride to the hospital. I knew this was going to mean emergency surgery. Anyway, I felt led not to call 911 and God healed my back that night.

But.....as I said, my baby miracle has not shown up. My grandmother died two years ago before our very eyes.

Right after that moment, my DH told me that the Lord spoke to him and told him we are going to have a Son. Well, this wasn't news to me, because his father had a dream years ago that we were going to have a son, and a few other things have happened that led us to believe that.

Anyway, we didn't tell anyone about what happened when my grandmother died, but I asked my sister recently if she received any word from the Lord at the moment my grandmother died 2 years ago.....and oddly enough, she said these very words....."You are going to have a son." She even blurted those words out instantly, and did not even need to take a moment to try and remember back to that day.

Although I felt encouraged at the time she told me that, it's just been way too long of a time frame for me. Heck, I unwisely thought I would be pregnant right after my grandmother died!

Well, we have been waiting 7 years total now and I must admit that I am kind of giving up. I am 47 years old, and although I know that doesn't matter when it comes to God doing something, I am really tired of wondering each time my TOM is due.

Believe it or not.....this is truly the first time I have ever really given up believing, and the same day I gave up, I opened this thread!!! Which leads me to believe.....that I must keep believing!

I do feel this way.....if God wants me to have a baby I will, and if not.....I won't. I truly don't want to suffer emotionally anymore over this, but I still do.

Your post has encouraged me....22 years is a very long time. I guess that makes my 7 years seem like almost nothing.

Thanks for posting this. I do have one very strange question.....Is there any particular reason that you named your son, Joseph?

[djemanuel]

Originally posted by Faye:
I think you were led to post this for me. I've had 3 medical related miracles in my life, so I know what God can do, but my baby miracle has not shown up.

I suffered 30 years with deformed knees, and God healed them. I couldn't even stand for 5 minutes w/o pain. Now they are perfect.

I suffered 20 years with a bad hip and God healed that as well. No more hip pain!!!

I blew my back out one day, and needed to go by ambulance to the hospital because the discs were touching bone-on-bone in my lower back, and I couldn't sit down, only stand or lay down.....so I couldn't take a car ride to the hospital. I knew this was going to mean emergency surgery. Anyway, I felt led not to call 911 and God healed my back that night.

But.....as I said, my baby miracle has not shown up. My grandmother died two years ago before our very eyes.

Right after that moment, my DH told me that the Lord spoke to him and told him we are going to have a Son. Well, this wasn't news to me, because his father had a dream years ago that we were going to have a son, and a few other things have happened that led us to believe that.

Anyway, we didn't tell anyone about what happened when my grandmother died, but I asked my sister recently if she received any word from the Lord at the moment my grandmother died 2 years ago.....and oddly enough, she said these very words....."You are going to have a son." She even blurted those words out instantly, and did not even need to take a moment to try and remember back to that day.

Although I felt encouraged at the time she told me that, it's just been way too long of a time frame for me. Heck, I unwisely thought I would be pregnant right after my grandmother died!

Well, we have been waiting 7 years total now and I must admit that I am kind of giving up. I am 47 years old, and although I know that doesn't matter when it comes to God doing something, I am really tired of wondering each time my TOM is due.

Believe it or not.....this is truly the first time I have ever really given up believing, and the same day I gave up, I opened this thread!!! Which leads me to believe.....that I must keep believing!

I do feel this way.....if God wants me to have a baby I will, and if not.....I won't. I truly don't want to suffer emotionally anymore over this, but I still do.

Your post has encouraged me....22 years is a very long time. I guess that makes my 7 years seem like almost nothing.

Thanks for posting this. I do have one very strange question.....Is there any particular reason that you named your son, Joseph?Hi Faye:

Yes, as a matter of fact there is a reason we named our son Joseph. Prior to moving from the Northwest to the Phoenix area I was captivated in reading the story of Joseph. Although in some ways it may seem strange to admit, in many ways my life had been similar to Joseph's up to the time of being disgarded by his brothers.

Prior to our moving however I believe God impressed upon my heart His desire to do "above and beyond what I could ask or think," but that I needed to go to the cross and personally lay my life at His feet. The focus of my life had been way too much focused on me and how God wanted to love and bless ME. In time, after 28 years of being a Christian, I had come to the end of living the life and I was done. I still believed in the gospel of course, but I was just done.

To make a long story shorter, God brought me the grace to lay down my life, my ambitions, aspirations and an overriding sense of 'being special' to Him. In fact, I am not special and the Lord began to show me how this perception of myself was a false security and not of Him. I repented within my heart and just fell into His arms. No promises, no changes owed...just Him, His security and His love. No exchanges other than my life ending, a new life in Christ starting.

I don't mean recommitting another run of effort, focus, confession, etc..etc..etc... I just mean I gave up and finally agreed in my soul that my only hope was Him. Not anything else. He captured me and won my affections.

Having experienced that for the first time after 28 years of proclaiming a personal faith, I realized in the birth of Joseph that God did have a plan for me, but that it was not who I would become, what I would achieve or any other fantasy that I had used for years to give me a reason for living. I went to the cross.

Joseph's name came to us because we believe God is fulfilling a promise He had placed in my heart from my youth. That I would achieve great and mighty things....the only difference was that God's great and mighty things mean one thing...the cross. He has given me the greatest gift of all...the desire and hunger to die today so that in fact I may know Him.

We named our son Joseph because God had in fact done an incredible, miraculous work in our hearts and in fact had given us incredible wealth. But at a time when all the world's prosperity is coming upon our family, God had changed my heart to no longer seek it, but rather to seek a life given solely to Him.

I know this is a long and perhaps unclear answer. But naming our son Joseph seemed to give Him the birthright I had always longed for within this world, only to be given a birthright of much higher value.

I hope this helps you Faye. Be encouraged. You do not serve or hunger for a God who is insecure. He can and will allow you to "be real" with Him. It is His desire to have you pour out your heart to Him, "for He cares for you."

I do encourage you to say quietly, yet sincerely to God, that He has the permission to take all your dreams, hopes and hungers from you and to lead you to the cross. In doing that (which is a never ending process of course) your joy will become more and more based on eternity and less and less on the things we desire so much.

I know this is a challenge...believe me. But I also know that God is true, Jesus is alive and when all is said in done, He is listening to you and sees every thought that goes through your head as you ponder him earnestly.

Bless you Faye, I will pray for your son's arrival though. Remember also, we are children of a promise and that all we do should be done "in faith."

Blessings upon your heart.

DJ

[Faye]

DJ,

Thanks for the wonderful reply!

It's very interesting that I didn't receive my 3 miracles until I did the very same things you describe. I basically sought what I thought would be good for me in my life, never knowing that I needed to seek God's plan for me. I didn't understand that fact, despite being raised in the church!

I love why you named your Son Joseph. I'm so glad you shared it with me.

Another interesting thing.....

If I have a Son, I will name him John, after John the Baptist.

The reason.....because of what he said to King Herod. Remember how Herod seemed so interested in what John was teaching? Well, I feel that he had a desire to serve God and change his ways, but didn't of course.

Anyway, one of the things John told him was....."Whoa be unto those who say yes to God but do not follow His ways." This is such a profound statement to me, because I certainly didn't understand it fully, until I reached the age of 40.

I also want to name him John because his mother, Elizabeth, was past her time (they say 50 years old) when she became pregnant.

Anyway, do you mind if we keep in touch some how? I'd like to keep you posted, if I do indeed get my miracle baby.

Coincidentally, I live in the Palm Springs area of California. My father lives near Sedona, Arizona, and is facing some medical tests, because he might have cancer. I may be coming to Phoenix soon because some of his tests are at the VA hospital on Indian School Road and 7th Avenue (I believe). I know it sounds strange, but perhaps we could meet sometime? My DH plays golf too.

I'll PM you with my email address.

Thanks.

Faye

[Faye]

I sent you a PM. Let me know if you get it.

[ April 05, 2003, 11:42 PM: Message edited by: Faye ]

[Faye]

Hi DJ,

I sent you another PM. Our email addy's were blocked.

[Collette]

I just had to pop in on this thread. What a lovely story and example of how God works in our lives.

I have a short story myself of how God has given me the most precious miracle ever.

My Husband and I have been married for 17 years...we were very young when married. For years we went through many, many fertilty treatments only to discontinue them after much failure and disappointment.

We continued on in our marriage but there always seemed to be a part of "Us" missing, almost as though our lives had come to a stand still and there was no more room for growth in our marriage. We essentially became only room mates yet still the best of friends. He did his thing and I did mine...we each had our own interestes, yet not ones shared together.

After about 14 years of marriage our relationship seemed to drift further apart. There was no fighting nor hostility, just not the initmacy we once shared. By intimacy, I dont mean of a sexual nature, but in conversations, sharing about our dreams and ambitions, there was absolutley no encouragement or interest in the other persons dreams or ideas. We were slowly drifting apart.

Part of this attibuted to my ideas of feeling less of a woman for not being able to give my husband and I what wehad been praying for for so long, I felt a failure. My husband had the attitude that if we had children, then so be it...wonderful, it was meant to be, but if we didn't that was fine also.

My dream always was to have a big family and this was not happening for us. I pulled away, so mostly this was my fault. The intimacy failed in our marriage mostly because of the failure and blame I was putting upon myself.

Where this became worse, infidelity became part of the factor and we drifted further and further apart. my husband noticed some changes but never did her suspect that I would do such a horrible thing, he never realized how much intimacy i was truely missing, nor the acceptance that I could never make him happy without giving him a child.

Shortly after the affair, I came clean to my husband, not out of guilt, I felt that would be for a selfish reason. The reason I cam eforward with this affair was the fact that I became PREGNANT. The dates were too close and I just could not live the lie of my huisband thinking he was a father when indeed it may have been from another man. WHen I came forward and told him he was very hurt. When I asked him what he felt i should do his answer was simply "nothing".
he asked me never to speak of this againm that he new in his heart that this child was indeed OURS.

After the baby arrived, looking identical to my husband, after much coercing, I convinced my husband to have a DNA test done. He submitted and the tests revealed that he was indeed the father of OUR child (after 14 years of no success)

I can not think of another example of devine intervention. In a time where I was so distraught and doing things so terribly out of my character, I truely believe that God intervened telling us that our marrige was so worth fighting for.

By no means am I saying that having a child is the solution to troubled marriages/relationships but in our case it was the miracle we needed.

We are "older" parents and everyday is a struggle for us. We pray now as a family and everyday is a blessing to us as we see our son grow and mature. We now see each other in a different light. We have grown to be more patient and understanding. We are learning to open up and share our dreams for not only our son, but for us as individuals and a couple. We have come to learn to repect each other more and more. I admire my husband for the forgivness he has shown me and I thank God each and everyday for the gift he has given to me.

When some men would have not stuck by me for the terrible sin committed against them, I was fortunate enought to have one that forgave me and moved on.

I have learned that people make mistakes and situations make them stray, whether it be from a marriage, friendship or GOD. I am now not one to judge othes so harshly, because I do not live in their shoes. I also have learned that my God is a a forgiving God whom has given me a second chance because he loves me and forgives me.

I am so sorry this has become so long winded, but the original OP's story struck me and reminded me that if we share these moments with others, then they to can still have a little sparkle of hope in their lives when sometimes all they see is darkness.

Blessings to all of you and mayall your dreams and prayers be answered.