Today, I welcome Christy Underwood! She is not only my dear friend, but she is also a woman who fights to stand strong in Christ. I admire her perseverance and endurance. I think you will too. May her story below be an inspiration to you.
The ultrasound tech asked, “How many pregnancies have you had?”
“This is my fifth.”
“How many live births?”
“One.”
Questions like these are tough to answer when you’ve had repeat miscarriages.
What’s even tougher is learning at your first ultrasound that there’s nothing in the sac. Nothing. That was a first – and I was devastated.
On my way home from the doctor’s office, I heard the song “Come Alive (Dry Bones),” by Lauren Daigle:
“Breathe, oh breath of God
Now breathe, oh breath of God
Breathe, oh breath of God, now breathe
As we call out to dry bones
Come alive, come alive
We call out to dead hearts
Come alive, come alive.”
Ezekiel once saw dry bones in a vision. God told Ezekiel to prophesy over the bones. When he did, God put breath in them and they came to life. I knew the story behind the song before I was pregnant. Hearing it this time, I cried. I badly wanted God to breathe life into me, into my baby.
In the days ahead, I had bloodwork done, and my hormone levels were consistent with a normal pregnancy but not rising as much as expected. I still was hopeful, but, at our next ultrasound the result was the same: No life. No baby.
There are no words to explain the sinking feeling.
Yet through this heartache, amazingly, I’ve experienced more of God’s love. It’s unlike anything the world can offer. Sure, I’ve wept – and wept, but God extended strength, peace, and joy during the difficult times. I’m not depressed. I’m not anxious. Only God, the Creator of all good things, could have carried me through this.
Do you ever stop to consider God’s point of view when you’re going through a hard time?
He’s a good, loving Father. When I see my daughter hurting, my heart breaks. I desire to give her good things. Yet, because I love her, at times, I must withhold things for her benefit.
God could have given us this child, but maybe He didn’t because He wants me to share my story with others who have experienced loss. Maybe He saw how this would strengthen my faith and the faith of others. Maybe He saw how He would be glorified.
And, maybe, God intervenes more than I realize, maybe, more than – we – realize…
I started reading Safe in the Arms of God by John MacArthur. Here, it occurred to me, God might have prohibited a situation from happening that would have been even more difficult.
Maybe I don’t need to know it all…maybe I just need to trust a good, loving Father.
Yes, I continue to pray for a child, but I want God’s plan for my life more than a child. I choose to trust Him for myself, my husband, and my daughter. Trusting for my daughter is the most difficult. Sometimes I want another child more for her than for me. God reminds me that I need to trust Him. Isn’t it hard though when we think we know what’s best?
These words encourage me. I hope they encourage you too:
When you don’t move the mountains
I’m needing you to move
When you don’t part the waters
I wish I could walk through
When you don’t give the answers
As I cry out to you
I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in you.
– Song, Trust in You by Lauren Daigle
Whether it seems big or small, God cares and desires to reveal His love for you. He wants to breathe new hope, joy and peace into what we look at as dead, dry and done with. Even with Jesus, what looked dead, at the right time, came alive. Day by day, let’s trust God, even when our plans don’t seem to align with His.
Prayer: God, thank you for who You are. You are a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. Help us to trust in You when we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Help us to keep our minds and thoughts on You instead of the worries of this world. Help us to expect You to show up, that we would feel Your love and know the peace that only You can bring. Amen.
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Christy is a wife, a mother to one sweet girl, and a speech therapist. She’s lived in Southern California her whole life. Kelly and Christy met in their early 20s at a church retreat and have supported each other through all of the crazy transitions life keeps bringing.
Kelly’s must-add words about Christy: Christy is faithful. She pursues God in a way where she doesn’t let her heart quit. I admire her, I love her and I thank her for using her extreme difficulty as a God-exalting opportunity. Daddy is well pleased.
Thanks Christy and Kelly for such a wonderful and timely devotion. I lost my son in July 18th 2015 he was 21years old and my only biological child sooo there is a huge void but I am learning to rest in Jesus. Christy it is true that God chooses some on us to go through the hard stuff to be an encouragement to others. I thank God that he use you to encourage me today. Thanks for sharing your story, your life and the wonderful things God is doing in and through you. May God grant you both the desires of your heart.
Michelle,
Thank you for sharing some of your story. Even though our stories are different, we both understand loss. I’m truly honored to be able to encourage you. Praying for you, that you continue to find rest in Jesus and that He uses you and your son’s life for His glory.
Oh how I needed this today. I was crying last night and praying to understand why my life has not gone according to plan. I was crying because I too had a miscarriage a couple of years ago and the same thing happened to me – the sac was empty and there was no baby. A year later I was blessed with a son, but then had postpartum heart failure and can now have no more children. This broke my heart because I felt like there was one more. The Lord has given me the assurance that someday I’ll understand, but last night I was crying because sometimes I still feel so sad. And then I woke up this morning to find this email in my inbox and knew it was an answer to my prayer. Thank you a million times for sharing your story with me. I can’t believe what a tender mercy that not only would you write about a miscarriage, but one that was identical to mine. Thank you for seeing the good so now I can too. Thank you for being an answer to my prayers.
Jamie,
I know those tears. I’m so honored that God used my story to answer your prayer. Thank you for sharing some of your story with me. I feel like miscarriage is one of those things that no one fully understands unless you’ve been through it. Your story reminds me how sovereign God truly is, connecting the details of our stories together. Praying for you!