An Open Letter to Friends and Family

(Another "catch-up" post....I began this one several weeks back, but never finished it up.)

Dear Friends & Family,

As I sit here writing this letter, I am very much aware that there is a tiny little person being formed inside of me. This is the 8th time I've known the joy of discovering that God is busy knitting someone special in my womb. It is the 8th time I've been able to tell my husband the news of a tiny little body growing secretly within. It is the 8th time I will soon find myself outgrowing my clothing, eating much more than normal, feeling super sleepy, finding that smells are many times a bit too strong for me. It is the 8th time I've told you all that I'm going to be a mom....again.

I know that many of you do not understand our true joy at such news. I know that for many of you, the news that yet another baby is going to join our household is, well, just a bit too much. Too much to imagine. Too much to comprehend. Too much to understand. Too much. Or, as some have even vocalized, "too many". <sigh>

I know I cannot change anyone's mind about anything. And that's okay. I'm not really trying to change your mind. I'm not even trying to be understood. I'm okay with being misunderstood. Really all I want to do is point you to the One Who made all this possible in the first place. The One Who called me to this journey. The One Who placed all 8 of those tiny babies inside my womb to grow into a new member of our family. The One Who is the Giver of Life.

The Bible never, ever talks about bearing children as anything other than a blessing. It is never seen as a burden to be endured or even avoided. Bearing children is what we were created to do. It is one of the primary responsibilities... privileges....of womanhood.

We've heard many things over the years from many people....things like "Don't you know what causes that?" "You sure have your hands full!" and even "You people are crazy!"

It seems that one of the biggest misunderstanding people have about our particular situation is that they think we have all these children because we are "trying for another boy". We have one son, followed by six sisters. And while we've always hoped for another boy, we've NEVER been discontent with our girls. And now, we will probably be misunderstood even more......

While we are *thrilled* to be having another boy, this doesn't necessarily mean we're "done" having children. 

“For who has known the mind of the Lord,

    or who has been his counselor?” 

Romans 11:34 (ESV)

And we will be happy with another one, no matter the gender! 

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My Story.....Part 2

You can read the first part of My Story here.


So I regretted my decision to end my fertility, but, sadly, my husband did not.  He was quite content with the three children we had. We had a boy and 2 girls and he felt our family was complete.

Quite surprisingly for me (at that time) I did not nag, whine, complain or even discuss my feelings with my husband. But I did start to pray. I began by praying that the surgery wasn't successful. However, at my postpartum checkup, my OB happily informed me that the pathologist report showed that the tissue removed was indeed, "right Fallopian tube, left Fallopian tube". My heart sank. I had an awful sick feeling in my stomach.

I kept praying. Now my prayer was that God would miraculously heal me. He had made my Fallopian tubes, after all, surely He could grow them back together. (I know that God is completely sovereign and He could have, indeed, grown them back together, or even given me completely new ones, had He so wished, but He had a different plan for me.)

Then I began praying that He would change my husband's heart. I started researching tubal ligation reversals, only to be terribly disappointed by the costs of such surgeries. I knew we would never be able to afford it. Then I found a group that helps fund reversals. I joined their site and learned so much about reversals, as well as about how children are blessings from God and that there are people who actually want lots of children. (That was a concept that was completely foreign to me. I was raised with the typical American mentality of 2-3 children being enough. Or more than enough. <sigh>)

The Lord did work on my husband's heart and he came to the place that he agreed with me that we had made a mistake. He was willing to get a reversal if we could find a way to afford it. (I had joined the reversal funding group's yahoo email group, but they had some requirements that I didn't feel we could agree to. Therefore, I knew that we would be on our own for funding our reversal. Haha....as if God weren't big enough even for the funding part!)

One night my husband was away from home and I was again searching about reversals. I suddenly had an idea. What about Mexico? Was it possible that there was a doctor in Mexico who did the surgery? It would certainly be cheaper. Hmmm...... What I found was nothing short of amazing to me! There was a doctor and he was highly recommended by the funding group I had been following. I was super excited.

My husband, however, was not.


**To Be Continued**


To Read Part 3 click here.

Children Are A Gift From God

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Behold, children are a ^[c]gift of the LORD, 

The fruit of the womb is a reward. 

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, 

So are the children of one’s youth. 

How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; 

They will not be ashamed 

When they speak with their enemies in the gate.

Psalm 127:3-5

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