Have you ever felt like you are a magnet for pregnancy announcements? You see a friend of yours walking down the hall at church with that special smile on their face and you just know what they’re going to say. They’re having a baby. They only want to share their joy with you and the only thing you want to do is find the nearest bathroom stall to lock yourself in before the tears begin to fall.

No matter how long you’ve been struggling with being childless, I’m sure by now you are very familiar with waiting. Waiting for a new cycle to begin… waiting for the pregnancy test to show its results… waiting for the specialist appointment… waiting for the specialized test results…. Waiting can bring out the worst in a person, but it can also cause the greatest spiritual growth when you have hope in the plans God has for you.

I love birthdays. I love being around my friends and family and birthdays are a great reason to get together! For my 29th birthday, Ray had decided to bless me with a gift of two nights at a hotel in a quaint town a couple of hours from our home. I was going to be able to bring along four friends and my mom. It was the making of a great weekend! The day before we were to head away on our girls’ getaway was also the day of our results appointment with our fertility doctor.

Sharing news of an indefinite infertility diagnosis with family can be a daunting task. My family had been party to my journey since the day Ray and I had decided to try to get pregnant. I have always had a very close relationship with my parents so it was unfathomable to me to not share this potentially exciting news with them! They prayed for us, supported us and provided a shoulder to lean on in the difficult times. My journey through childlessness would have been so much more difficult if I hadn’t been supported by my parents.

When your path is altered so dramatically that you know only God has lead you to where you are going, you shouldn’t be surprised when He continues to act on your behalf. My weakness of faith shows up continually when I simply don’t trust God to do good things to and for me. Our story of adoption is filled will many miracles that paved the way for us to be parents. I share this journey with you now to show that our prayers do not settle on deaf ears. He hears them and sometimes, He gives us what we’ve asked for and so much more.