Hello. It's me, Christine. I wanted to tell you all a little about me, this journey and the dream of 2theLeast. I am an almost 33-year-old stay at home mom, living my dream life of raising possibly the cutest, smartest little girl there ever was! I have been married now for 8 years. We once described our marriage as a jolly rancher...hard but sweet. I have done a lot of learning about myself in these 8 years and the Lord has been so so gracious (along with my husband).
Our journey to becoming a family was not really what the world would call "text book". It began several years into our marriage. The standard "we've been married several years, why don't we get pregnant?" conversation. Although (after many doctors and medications) it turns out that's it's not so easy to get pregnant when you don't ovulate. Who knew? But we found out. It was a dark time for me and in turn a dark time for my man. He wanted to "fix" it. I didn't want to have to be "fixed". There was a combination of heartache and shame that you could only understand if you have walked the road of infertility. Truly. It was hard. It was a couple years in that I began allowing the Lord to soften my heart for what His plan was and to be content in it. Be encouraged sisters of infertility. The biggest truth the Lord whispered to me over a over during this time was that my journey of not being able to conceive was NOT a consequence for anything. He was NOT punishing me. His plan is filled with grace and, as I look back, a kind of sweetness I wouldn't change for anything. We grew closer, the Lord and me. So take it one day at a time. Let the Lord be your healer. He will. He is faithful.
As emotional healing was taking place and in a story that only He could write, He lead us to the doors of a place called New Life Pregnancy Center. After MUCH paperwork, training, and a couple of failed placements, we met one of the bravest people I know. For this blog she will be called "S". S was 18 at the time, already had a 3 year old and overwhelmed with the idea of another child to care for. My heart broke for her. I couldn't (and still can't) imagine having to make that decision. We became instant friends and what seemed so odd to the world looking on, felt so natural to us. The Lord was bonding us and He is continuing to build a relationship that only He can. S had decided that Zach and I would be parents to her unborn daughter. It was a happy day! On April 8th, 2010, S gave birth to our sweet girl, whom together we named Preslee Mariah. Zach and I got to be at the hospital for the first bath. I was able to give her the first bottle. It was beautiful. The picture of adoption that was written on the glorious day Jesus died on the cross and invited us to His family, we were living out in a hospital room in Galveston,Texas. It has been a joy-filled 16 months. She makes my heart leap out of my chest.
But you see, amidst all the paperwork and planning before her arrival, was this small detail of the adoption agency's fee. It was an amount of money that Zach and I didn't have laying around, so between a more than generous donation from a ministry here in town, the hard work of my family and friends, and t-shirt sales, we had all the money we needed to bring our sweet girl home. During our t-shirt sales, we shipped t-shirts to over 20 states. It was overwhelming -in a good way of course. To be a part of how the body of Christ came together for our little story was something I will NEVER forget. Shipping shirts and thank you notes out to people that I would probably never get to see face to face, hug their neck, or tell them of the great blessing they were to us, was such a mix of emotions.
So what could I do about it? Well, I could get together with a couple of friends and my sister, come up with a clever name, and start a small organization called 2theLeast so that, prayerfully, we can be a blessing to others. A blessing to families who are pursuing caring for the fatherless. A blessing to those who are living in our country and around the world as the fatherless. It is our prayer that we are just that, a blessing. We can't do it without you. We can't do it without His grace. And here we are. Want to come along for the ride?
Blessings to you,
Christine
Our journey to becoming a family was not really what the world would call "text book". It began several years into our marriage. The standard "we've been married several years, why don't we get pregnant?" conversation. Although (after many doctors and medications) it turns out that's it's not so easy to get pregnant when you don't ovulate. Who knew? But we found out. It was a dark time for me and in turn a dark time for my man. He wanted to "fix" it. I didn't want to have to be "fixed". There was a combination of heartache and shame that you could only understand if you have walked the road of infertility. Truly. It was hard. It was a couple years in that I began allowing the Lord to soften my heart for what His plan was and to be content in it. Be encouraged sisters of infertility. The biggest truth the Lord whispered to me over a over during this time was that my journey of not being able to conceive was NOT a consequence for anything. He was NOT punishing me. His plan is filled with grace and, as I look back, a kind of sweetness I wouldn't change for anything. We grew closer, the Lord and me. So take it one day at a time. Let the Lord be your healer. He will. He is faithful.
As emotional healing was taking place and in a story that only He could write, He lead us to the doors of a place called New Life Pregnancy Center. After MUCH paperwork, training, and a couple of failed placements, we met one of the bravest people I know. For this blog she will be called "S". S was 18 at the time, already had a 3 year old and overwhelmed with the idea of another child to care for. My heart broke for her. I couldn't (and still can't) imagine having to make that decision. We became instant friends and what seemed so odd to the world looking on, felt so natural to us. The Lord was bonding us and He is continuing to build a relationship that only He can. S had decided that Zach and I would be parents to her unborn daughter. It was a happy day! On April 8th, 2010, S gave birth to our sweet girl, whom together we named Preslee Mariah. Zach and I got to be at the hospital for the first bath. I was able to give her the first bottle. It was beautiful. The picture of adoption that was written on the glorious day Jesus died on the cross and invited us to His family, we were living out in a hospital room in Galveston,Texas. It has been a joy-filled 16 months. She makes my heart leap out of my chest.
But you see, amidst all the paperwork and planning before her arrival, was this small detail of the adoption agency's fee. It was an amount of money that Zach and I didn't have laying around, so between a more than generous donation from a ministry here in town, the hard work of my family and friends, and t-shirt sales, we had all the money we needed to bring our sweet girl home. During our t-shirt sales, we shipped t-shirts to over 20 states. It was overwhelming -in a good way of course. To be a part of how the body of Christ came together for our little story was something I will NEVER forget. Shipping shirts and thank you notes out to people that I would probably never get to see face to face, hug their neck, or tell them of the great blessing they were to us, was such a mix of emotions.
So what could I do about it? Well, I could get together with a couple of friends and my sister, come up with a clever name, and start a small organization called 2theLeast so that, prayerfully, we can be a blessing to others. A blessing to families who are pursuing caring for the fatherless. A blessing to those who are living in our country and around the world as the fatherless. It is our prayer that we are just that, a blessing. We can't do it without you. We can't do it without His grace. And here we are. Want to come along for the ride?
Blessings to you,
Christine
No comments:
Post a Comment