You too?

i just got back from hanging out with my awesome friend, jacqueline...we watched a few chick flicks while our husbands are out watching a batman marathon...sitting through 3 movies in a theater! oh my! but, we had fun and i loved just sitting around and giggling at dumb stuff.

i am home and sitting in bed, just reflecting on the day and praying for a few old friends. today, three different high school friends reached out to me about their journeys with infertility. the first was a huge encouragement to me. this friend was a year ahead of me in school, but we had two classes together and played softball for two years together. we are able to facebook stalk each other, and yesterday she sent me a message. she told me that she has had 2 very successful IUIs, resulting in 2 beautiful children!  it was great to hear an awesome success story when i woke up this morning! 

i also have a facebook message going back and forth with a friend from my class that i was very close to in school. over time we have drifted, but thanks to facebook, we have reconnected. i have been following this friend's spiritual journey over the last few months and have been so encouraged to see some amazing, Godly growth in her life and in her relationship with her husband. she reached out to me today and told me that they have been trying for about 2 years to have a child. my heart just breaks for them! i know that she will be an amazing mother, and it is so hard to understand why this has not happened for her. i could say that for a lot of people, but i know that this sweet girl has been through a lot in her life. to see her overcome, and continue to grow in spite of some serious obstacles makes me wonder why she is being asked to wait for this blessing. i am praying for her and her husband, and their family! please pray that God would open her womb and give her a healthy baby of her own!!

the second friend i talked to...well, this is a hard one for me. i have known this friend for a long time and we were FAST friends. there are very few high school memories with them not involved!! we are the kinds of friends that do not have to talk every day, week, or even every month, but we know that we will always have each other's back. in fact, it has been several months since we had talked on the phone until today. i was contacted first by facebook message to see if they could call and ask a few questions, then we talked for about 40 minutes. i was shocked to hear that this husband and wife are also going through a hard road of infertility. they are now facing having to decide between IUI, IVF, or being done for right now. i am literally heartbroken for them! this couple has given sacrificially, for years, in full time, part time, and volunteer positions in the church. they are a couple that i can look to as a guide for spiritual matters. they have overcome big things both individually and as a couple. now, they are watching so many of their friends and family getting pregnant and having babies and wondering why God has not blessed them yet. i fully understand that feeling and the toll that infertility can take on you mentally, emotionally, physically, and relationally. i really wish that i could fix this for them. i would love to see them parent...they are going to be fantastic! please pray that God would lead them down the path that is His will for them. please pray that they will have peace in the next few months, and that the doctors would have clarity regarding their specific needs!! i know that God has some amazing things in store for them, and i cant wait to see what it is...sooner rather than later would be awesome!

i hurt for these friends! i hurt for the other families that i have met through blogging and/or facebook that are on this exact road. i will never understand why we have been asked to go down this road. i still wonder how many more things God needs to teach me before we have a baby. i think the same for these friends. i will never understand why it is so easy for some and very difficult for others. why some consider a pregnancy/child a consequence of a bad decision, while so many of us are waiting, sometimes impatiently, for our blessing. but, through it all i know that there is a plan. no, this was not my plan. no, this is not my friends' plan. but i have seen so many awesome God moments when i choose to look around. i have met some amazing people when i open myself up. i have been able to encourage and be encouraged in the most unintended ways...it can only be God. yes, this is hard. yes, it will continue to be hard for so many...until Jesus comes back. but, i am so glad that i can pray with confidence. that i know that i can talk to a God who hears and answers...and answers with very specific responses. so, please join in...have faith with and for me and my friends!

i know that i have been somewhat vague, and i have not given names. i am a very open book, but not everyone is. if you know either of these people, or think you know, please just pray for them. there is no need for anything more!! 

Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." 

blessings, ALo