Many, many years
later my husband Bob and I held a bible study in our home for some of the
people who were in our church choir with us. We were pretty new to faith in God
and were still serving Him in the Catholic Church. We were so excited about
what we were discovering in God’s Word that there was nothing we weren’t brave
enough to pray for. We saw many miracles as we prayed but one of the most
profound involved a woman named Miriam.
Miriam was 42,
married with 2 adopted children ages 15 & 17. She was physically unable to
have children. One night she came to the group asking us to pray for her. She
was in tremendous pain and the doctors were concerned she could possibly have
cancer. As a group, we anointed her with oil and prayed for her complete
healing. Complete is the
key word here….. Next meeting she was pain free, no cancer. One month later she
came to group to announce she was 2 weeks pregnant! God had truly done a
COMPLETE healing, for sure.
Needless to say,
their family went through a bit of adjusting to this miracle, but this miracle
became a foundation of faith for me that God desires married couples to have
babies. I started studying God’s Word and discovered that though many women may
have been barren in the bible, not one who desired children remained that way.
There is only one woman in all of scripture who remained barren. That is
Michael, David’s wife, and that was because she mocked his relationship with
God. And let me tell you, God is the same yesterday, today and forever.
Throughout the years
God has allowed me to witness His Miracle Hand at work over and over again.
Sometimes I would know a woman was pregnant before she knew. It was fun to see
the shock on their faces (and it’s hard to believe I was bold enough to say
“Hey, did you know you are pregnant”without even knowing if they wanted to be)
when I told them! Granted, this doesn’t happen often, but I could feel God’s
excitement when He would tell me. I’d be so excited myself, I couldn’t hold it
back.
There have also been
a few times God has asked me to pray for someone that their womb would be
prepared for a soon coming baby. One woman, actually a very good friend of
ours, told me “no way” as she and her husband had decided they weren’t going to
have children. I informed her God had a different plan and 2 weeks later she
was pregnant. Jacob is 17 now, has a brother Josh and their mom and dad
couldn’t be better, more loving parents as they adjusted to God’s Will in their
lives.
God even used a
dream to inform me of my 1st grandchild. I remember it so vividly as
the most amazing joy came over me. I woke up and told my husband that the kids
were pregnant. He chuckled and said something like”a-huh”. They returned from
their honeymoon that evening and 2 weeks later, a pregnancy test proved the
dream to be true.
About 11-12 years
ago a friend/prayer partner of mine opened a door for me to become more
involved with helping lay a foundation of faith by God’s Word in the lives of
young women who hungered to have children. Lisa and I had the opportunity to be
prayer partners and as we prayed together once a week, she “noticed” my
penchant for pregnancy. Lisa was a sales representative for a radio station in
town and often attended business women’s meetings where she made connections
with lots of women from throughout the city. As she would get to know them and
they would tell her of their inability to have a family – or other pregnancy
dilemmas - she would ask them if
they’d like to “do lunch” with someone who liked to pray for babies.
Theresia was the 1st
and though her need was not fertility, it was for her pregnancy. She was
expecting her 2nd child and he had just been diagnosed with the same
congenital disease his sister had been born with two years previously. We spent
a few lunch hours together praying for God’s diagnosis to trump the doctors.
Theresia’s son was born disease free – and her daughter’s disease has not
progressed either. Our God is good.
Denise was the 2nd
– a Creighton pharmaceutical student who had been “trying” for a number of
years. Invitro had failed a couple
of times already, so when we met, her hopes were dry. I shared my story and
outlined God’s plan “that two would become one so that there would be godly
fruit”. She was so hungry for truth and we met a number of times to pray God’s
Word over her. Her faith grew and she shared what she learned with her husband
Bob. They were in an elevator when they got the news of 9-11 and though
overwhelmed with the horror of it, Bob finally understood God’s Goodness as his
mother was supposed to be at work in the towers that day. She was miraculously
late for work! They finished the elevator ride to the doctor’s office for one
last invitro attempt with Bob crying through it. The result was twin boys!
Denise and Bob now have 4 sons. Glory to God!
Then there was Cameo
and Jennifer. They were and still are great friends. Jennifer had been the one
who Cameo had chosen to accompany her into the delivery room for the birth of
her 1st child – a beautiful little girl who died moments before
delivery, strangled by her umbilical cord. Cameo was so afraid to carry another
child; the grief of this sudden loss was overwhelming. Jennifer had met Lisa
who asked if they would meet with me over lunch. They did and I was able to
assure her of God’s plan. Hope and healing came from God’s unchangeable Word
and Cameo and her husband now have four. I am blessed to run into them every
summer at swim meets as her children compete with my grands! Cameo later
invited me to speak to a group of women at her church who all had lost
children. What a precious group of sweet, hurting women! And Jennifer has
brought other women into my life to pray for……we are meeting for lunch tomorrow
so she can introduce another “barren” young woman to me. What a joy to be a
messenger of God’s Word and Will.
Jessica was a young
woman who loved the Lord and knew His Word, yet the fact that her pastor and his
wife had also been unable to bare children compounded her doubt as she and her
husband had been unable to have children after 10 years of trying. We met for 3
lunch hours of vigorous conversation with me asking her to focus on God’s Word
instead of the circumstances around her. I had and still have no explanation of
why her pastors did not have children, but circumstances NEVER supersede God’s
Word. Jessica was able to lock into God’s Word and one year later was the proud
mother of twins!
Talk about circumstances!
When I met Kris, she and Tim had been married for 10 years. Kris was born with
only a 3rd of her womb, had never ovulated on her own (had been on
birth control pills since the age of 15) and had 3rd stage
endometriosis. They had had 4 miscarriages from harvested eggs fertilized and
implanted. Kris, though growing up going to church every Sunday, never knew of
the Love of God and the richness of the Promises in His Word. Kris and I became
fast friends. We spent a lot of lunch hours together affirming her desire for
children through the Word of God and prayer. Kris was working with one of the
top fertility doctors in the city at the time and both of them were shocked
when Kris ovulated on her own. She was pregnant! They had decided to let her
body “rest” for a while with no meds or procedures, so this pregnancy was a
total surprise! But so was the loss of yet another child. I remember that phone
call. I was devistated along with Tim and Kris. This pregnancy was truly a gift
and yet…..
Failure – or so it
seemed. Lots of tears and Kris and I struggled with getting back together for
prayer. Emotions weighed heavily in this situation and though I had never
personally lost a child, I experienced some of the pain of this devastating
loss. Kris had been through this 4 other times but never before with the
foundation of God’s Promises. Her faith was shaken – and so was mine. I spent a
lot of “closet time” in prayer and tears. I know God’s Word is true, but….I had
never had a “but” before.
We finally had the
courage to decide to meet again. Just lunch this time. We needed to talk and
grieve together. It had been well over a month since the miscarriage and I
still didn’t know what to say. I purposed to encourage her and ontinue to
affirm her with the truth of God’s Word. We met at the restaurant, hugged, and
as I went to sit down, Kris said “I have something to tell you. As I was
getting ready to meet you, I had an impression that I should check for
ovulation,. Bib, for the 2nd time in my life, I’m ovulating on my
own!” We tried to eat, tried to pray but there was a new hope springing up. Tim
was in Lincoln that day for a NE football game. Being rather bold, I told her
to call him and tell him to come home. Something much more important than a
football game was at hand! 9 month later, through a miracle filled pregnancy
where her doctors were repeatedly astounded, little Presleigh was born.
Presleigh is now big sister to two, all of which were conceived naturally and
carried full term.
Kris’ story ignited
hope into the hearts of many young couples and whenever she gets wind of anyone
needing prayer in this area, she calls to have me add them onto my list for
daily prayer. She is truly a believer in the Love and Power of God. In fact,
one of the most recent young women I have met with got my email address from
her mother who had recently worked in an all-city church event with the mother
of Kris’ sister-in-law! Her name is Meghan, now proud mama of Collin. God’s
Blessings are rich and FULL.
There are many, many
more stories to tell, yet I wanted this not to be so long to bore you but long
enough to stir hope in your heart. I will be praying for every couple who
shares their desire for a child on this website and I will be waiting patiently
for all of the victory reports!
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