All this month, we’re sharing stories of God’s kind care and Providence (His working in all things) from you, our readers! Have one you want to share? You can tell us about it here. And for more stories like this, check out the brand-new book from Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth and Robert Wolgemuth, You Can Trust God to Write Your Story. (For a limited time, you can get a copy for a donation of any amount to Revive Our Hearts!)
You Can Trust God with Your Unplanned Pregnancy
I was in India as a single missionary, and slowly, gradually my spiritual life started going backwards. When I decided I should go back to my country to have some time and get into a restoring process, I learned that I was pregnant.
Because of this, I became a target of judgment and was held up as an example of how not to be. Everyone, with the exception of my sending church and some friends and family, stepped back and stopped talking to me.
The father of my baby and his family, non-Christians, remained next to me until I got to go home from the hospital. Within the context in India, this is something that never happens. But they were there, accompanying me until I came home.
My sending church showed me so much mercy in the middle of my mess. I have never felt so loved by people.
I saw God’s mercy in my life since the very first moment of this situation.
Before I went back to church, I married the father of my baby, who is an unbeliever. It has not been easy, but never in my life I have seen God working so much in me through the hard times.
My husband and I go to church together, and I know there is still a long way before He comes to personally know the Lord, but I have seen God making everything new. He didn’t fix my mess. He gave me a new beginning.
— Tatiana
You Can Trust God with Your Child’s Severe Illness
My husband and I had been church planting in Tanzania for six years. Then one night, our home was forcefully broken into and we were beat up. We took a leave back home, just to process and heal from the traumatic experience. I was pregnant with our third child at the time and was facing potential miscarriage from the trauma. During our time at home, we sought professional counseling and prayer by our church elders. We saw God heal the nightmares and bring us to a place of peace. He also protected our little baby in the womb.
We ended up staying home from the mission field, and my husband took a position as an associate pastor in our home church. We were settling back into “normal” life when we had our daughter. When she was six months old, she became really sick with double pneumonia. We were transported to the children’s hospital, where she was admitted to ICU and intubated.
After two days, we heard the worst: there was nothing else they could do.
Our church and our friends across the world prayed and fasted for God to bring healing, and He did. That night we began to see the signs that she was not getting any worse. She began to improve slowly, and after three weeks in ICU, we were moved to a regular room.
But she didn't heal completely; something else seemed to be wrong. It had been six weeks, I was tired, I had two other children, I felt we needed to go home.
She was finally diagnosed with Severe Combined Immune Deficiency and needed a bone marrow transplant. This shook us again. It was a whole new situation to adapt to. Our oldest daughter ended up being a bone marrow donor for her younger sister.
We praise God that everything went overall really smoothly (only two more visits back to the ICU from complications). We were finally discharged home after three months in the hospital. We went on one year of isolation protocol, which actually helped give me time and space to heal. We have celebrated two years post-transplant and rejoice that she remains in good health.
God has protected us. He has answered our prayers for emotional healing and physical healing in mighty ways. He has shown us His provisions for us during the really dark valleys that we went through. He has shown us much grace in preserving our daughter’s life. Our marriage went through a lot of stress, but God gave us perseverance and grace to stick together and grow—individually and together.
It has been hard and painful through the journey, but looking back I am so grateful for how He has shaped me, my character and my resilience through it all. He taught me to trust that all things work for His glory. He gave me opportunities in the hospital to share the gospel and to be a light to every healthcare worker we encountered. He used what seemed to be a struggle at the time to gloriously reflect who He is.
Our daughter’s name is Samara. It means “God has protected.” I didn’t know when we named her that God would take us through the wringer and cause us to trust that He would protect her . . . again and again.
As I look back at the season we went through, I see how God allowed a chaotic season to test us. I am grateful that our eyes remained fixed on God and His goodness through the storms and trials.
I have learned so much about myself and my journey—the road God has taken me on is leading me to become the woman He wants me to be. I wouldn’t have chosen the journey, but I am so glad He did. Life has become more settled now. I am back at work as a nurse in the ER. I completed a leadership training program this year and will enter a masters program for counseling psychology this fall. God has been so good. I don’t think I would have imagined my life would look this way, take this turn, or have me going back to school. But my passion for teaching others about emotional health and resilience in their faith has been a product of our journey. I’m humbled by God’s love for me.
— Amber
You Can Trust God When Your Baby Gets a Fatal Diagnosis
During a regular ultrasound during my pregnancy with my third child, we found out that she most likely had Trisomy 13 or 18 because of the abnormalities that they had detected. My doctor called to let us know and when we went in to discuss it with him, we were told we should terminate the pregnancy.
After receiving the news from the doctor, his recommendation seemed very logical, and to our shame, so tempting, to terminate the pregnancy. Interestingly though, the night before receiving the news, we had been at church and had heard a missionary speaking from a country somewhere in Asia. He mentioned how in the Western world, our tendency is to try and get out of difficult circumstances, but where he lived, they choose to get through them. Those words stayed with us and upon receiving the news from our doctor, they came back to haunt our thoughts.
As we considered the diagnosis, we knew in our hearts what we had to do, even though, by human logic, it sounded so much easier to simply get out. We chose not to abort her, and it was a very difficult time as we continued with the pregnancy and faced losing our child, but the Lord was faithful through it.
For about five days, we wrestled with what to do, and on the fifth day, Psalm 139 continued to play through my thoughts. The Lord would not give me peace, and His words penetrated my heart. I acknowledged the truths I already knew, that He had created our daughter, she was known and designed by a sovereign God, and He would be the one to decide her days.
My heart finally had peace, and I knew that the Lord had planned our daughter's life in his infinite wisdom. I knew He would walk with us through this trial, and we would not be alone.
I prayed that the Lord would give my husband the same conviction and assurance. We needed to be on the same page. That evening as we talked, we discovered that we had both come to the same conclusion that day, that the Lord had been working in both of our hearts separately. It was a real demonstration of His goodness and faithfulness and through the remainder of my pregnancy, He proved faithful every step of the way, answering little and big prayers and providing counsel and comfort when it was needed.
Mikayla was born five weeks early and lived for seven days. A week after her death, we had a celebration of life service where we gathered with our friends and family to give God the glory. God transformed us through that trial and grew in us a deeper understanding of Him. We were forever changed by the gift of Mikayla Jayne.
— Janice
Join the Discussion