OUR JOURNEY

Everyone likes to tell their story. I guess I'm no different from anyone else in that regard. Our story seems magical to us. (Everyone else probably feels the same way, right?)

We met as Resident Directors at a small Bible college. Long walks and deep talks soon created a deep friendship that gave way to a budding romance by the end of the first year of working together. One year later we were married, surrounded by family and loved ones. The first few years have passed quickly, blissful and serene.

Except for one thing: the unfulfilled desire for children. About a year and a half into our marriage, we began to talk seriously about planning for a family. An abrupt announcement from my Ob/Gyn raised the first sign of bumps in the road ahead: "You do know it will be difficult for you to get pregnant since you have cystic ovaries." The words rang in my head over and over as I researched online about this previously unheard of condition.

Believing that this problem could be dealt with naturally, I sought holistic advice from experts. I took large doses of vitamins and Omega 3s, changed my diet, tried herbal teas, and other homeopathic remedies. After a couple of months, I noticed changes in my system that led me to be more hopeful about the probability of pregnancy -- only to be disappointed month after month. Eventually, feeling he could offer me no more help, the holistic doctor referred me to another specialist.

Sitting in the gynecologist office waiting for yet another round of tests, I felt myself crashing from the roller coaster of emotions. Determined not to go to great or expensive lengths with fertility treatments, I felt that I was getting to the end of my self-imposed tether. Despite my best efforts not to get my hopes up with each possible suggestion or solution, I couldn't help but hope and then, in turn, experience the pit-sinking sensation of hope deferred with each month's failure to conceive.

Adoption has long been on my heart, even before marriage. I love the picture it provides of what God did for us, how He rescued us from our own bankrupt condition and gave us His Name and made us heirs of His kingdom. How amazing to be able to do that on a human level for a nameless, homeless child! I needed no convincing to channel my energies and focus toward adoption.