Sunday, February 17, 2013
A tough month...
Again, it's been a while since I've updated the blog. It's been a really busy couple of months but I know that's no excuse :)
Our Aunt Valerie passed away in January. Not surprisingly, it has been a difficult loss for our family. It has been an extremely difficult time for me. This is the first big loss in my life since I was 5 when my Papaw King passed away (which I don't really remember). My uncle Lee passed away 4 or 5 years ago, but unfortunately, we weren't as close as me and Valerie were. And my relationship with Valerie had changed a lot in the last couple of years, and as most people would probably have to say, it had changed most dramatically when we found out she had cirrhosis of the liver. But Valerie never let that bring her down. She was always so positive about the diagnosis and I have no doubt the diagnosis brought her closer to the Lord. Valerie died exactly two weeks from when she found out she had made the liver transplant list. And though my original thoughts were "This is not fair. She had tried so hard and come so far" I have come to realize that all that hard work was not in vain. She now has a new body and is getting to sit at the feet of her heavenly Father. And if I wasn't 100%sure about her salvation, God gave me peace the Sunday after she died when at church, the special music was a song about how there is no more pain and suffering for those that get to be in Heaven. It was so comforting to know that that Sunday, God was letting my family know that His daughter Valerie was with Him and was suffering no more. Praise God that I was able to know my Aunt Valerie and I hope that I can be as good of an Aunt as she was and be a Godly example to my nieces. And although our child(ren) will never get to meet and know Valerie, they will get to hear about the incredible person she was and the impact that she had on my life and all those who came in contact with her.
So here we are today, February 17th and we celebrated the birth of my sweet little niece Margaret Caroline May (Maggie). I can't believe it has already been 3 years since she was born. Time goes by so fast and her birthday celebration along with the death of our Aunt are both bitter sweet reminders of how precious time is and how we need to treasure each moment we have with those we love and how we need to use each day to help bring others to know Christ and His amazing love. I also think about the fact that if everything had happened the way WE had planned it, Doug and I would have a 3 year old as well. (We tried to get pregnant around the same time my sister did over three years ago.) But praise God that His plan is much better and bigger than ours. We were in no way where we needed to be in our marriage but most importantly, spiritually. Though I get discouraged sometimes that we don't have a child, I just remind myself that maybe God's still working on us before He blesses us with a child(ren)...it's just like that little song you learn as a child "God's still workin on me...to make me what I ought to be...." :)
Please continue to pray for us as we continue to wait, wait, wait... Please pray for patience, pray for Bethany Christian Services and our adoption counselor, pray for the birth mother counselor that she will be able to work with these mothers to make the best decision for their life, and most importantly, pray the God can continue to work in us and help better us so that we can be the best parents we can be someday to our child(ren). Thanks to those who are still hanging in there with us and continuing to read our blog :) You truly have NO idea how much it means to have the support of loved ones and even complete strangers! So excited to know how well our child is already loved :)
Hope you have a wonderful week. AND if anyone finds out of a pregnant mother who is considering adoption and more importantly, considering abortion, please refer her to Bethany Christian Services where she can receive free counseling to help her decide what is best for her and her baby.
Our Aunt Valerie passed away in January. Not surprisingly, it has been a difficult loss for our family. It has been an extremely difficult time for me. This is the first big loss in my life since I was 5 when my Papaw King passed away (which I don't really remember). My uncle Lee passed away 4 or 5 years ago, but unfortunately, we weren't as close as me and Valerie were. And my relationship with Valerie had changed a lot in the last couple of years, and as most people would probably have to say, it had changed most dramatically when we found out she had cirrhosis of the liver. But Valerie never let that bring her down. She was always so positive about the diagnosis and I have no doubt the diagnosis brought her closer to the Lord. Valerie died exactly two weeks from when she found out she had made the liver transplant list. And though my original thoughts were "This is not fair. She had tried so hard and come so far" I have come to realize that all that hard work was not in vain. She now has a new body and is getting to sit at the feet of her heavenly Father. And if I wasn't 100%sure about her salvation, God gave me peace the Sunday after she died when at church, the special music was a song about how there is no more pain and suffering for those that get to be in Heaven. It was so comforting to know that that Sunday, God was letting my family know that His daughter Valerie was with Him and was suffering no more. Praise God that I was able to know my Aunt Valerie and I hope that I can be as good of an Aunt as she was and be a Godly example to my nieces. And although our child(ren) will never get to meet and know Valerie, they will get to hear about the incredible person she was and the impact that she had on my life and all those who came in contact with her.
So here we are today, February 17th and we celebrated the birth of my sweet little niece Margaret Caroline May (Maggie). I can't believe it has already been 3 years since she was born. Time goes by so fast and her birthday celebration along with the death of our Aunt are both bitter sweet reminders of how precious time is and how we need to treasure each moment we have with those we love and how we need to use each day to help bring others to know Christ and His amazing love. I also think about the fact that if everything had happened the way WE had planned it, Doug and I would have a 3 year old as well. (We tried to get pregnant around the same time my sister did over three years ago.) But praise God that His plan is much better and bigger than ours. We were in no way where we needed to be in our marriage but most importantly, spiritually. Though I get discouraged sometimes that we don't have a child, I just remind myself that maybe God's still working on us before He blesses us with a child(ren)...it's just like that little song you learn as a child "God's still workin on me...to make me what I ought to be...." :)
Please continue to pray for us as we continue to wait, wait, wait... Please pray for patience, pray for Bethany Christian Services and our adoption counselor, pray for the birth mother counselor that she will be able to work with these mothers to make the best decision for their life, and most importantly, pray the God can continue to work in us and help better us so that we can be the best parents we can be someday to our child(ren). Thanks to those who are still hanging in there with us and continuing to read our blog :) You truly have NO idea how much it means to have the support of loved ones and even complete strangers! So excited to know how well our child is already loved :)
Hope you have a wonderful week. AND if anyone finds out of a pregnant mother who is considering adoption and more importantly, considering abortion, please refer her to Bethany Christian Services where she can receive free counseling to help her decide what is best for her and her baby.
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