There was once a starry-eyed sixteen year old girl, who had big plans for the future. She had everything going for her. A 4.0 GPA, captain of the cheerleading squad, and was the madrigal queen to name a few. She got set up on a blind date with a cute boy, and fell hard and fast with the wonderful words he said before she really got to know the full extent of his character.
A few years later, the cute boy got sent overseas to fight in a war defending their country while the 19 year old girl went off to college. A year later, he came home a different person. The family readiness group said this was to be expected, but the system failed the soldier.
The couple unexpectedly became pregnant, and the once starry-eyed girl was barely twenty and terrified. She was overwhelmed with college already, and wasn’t sure how she was going to deal with being pregnant or having a child to take care of while finishing school. The boy spent all his time drinking, and the girl was left to deal with the weight of being thrown into motherhood alone.
Then the unthinkable happened. The girl started bleeding, and all of the doctors told her she had lost the baby. Miscarriages are typical; One out of every three pregnancies end like this. A few weeks of blood work and ultrasounds to make sure a D & C is not necessary, and the girl would be fine.
Brokenness consumed the girl. The child she didn’t think she wanted was gone. She cried out to the Lord, “God, what have I done? If you will give me this child, I will never again consider a baby a burden or inconvenience. I will raise him to walk in your ways, and will consider this child to be a blessing,” as if the great I Am can be bargained with.
Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Psalms 127:3
Four long weeks of morning sickness and doctors appointments later, they found a tiny heartbeat in a womb they said was empty.
Her parents, out of blind love for the girl, advised her to make a decision about the baby in her belly. It would be much easier to rid yourself of this burden, and of a husband who was absent at best and belligerent at worst- was the underlying message. But she had already made up her mind; a promise to the creator of the universe and a miracle inside her. The baby was hers.
Nine hard months later a precious son was born in the warm spring. A priceless, precious gift that the girl never deserved. College student motherhood is difficult, but Jesus walks alongside weary mothers who cry out to him for help. Two difficult years went by. The countless counselors said the “marital” words and actions were abusive, but he never hit her. She sometimes wished he would have; a fist would have hurt less.
The girl and the baby left him. Then, in her absence, the man would change like a chameleon. Wonderful things were promised. He was going to get help, and everything would be better. She came back. Time and time and time again this was repeated, with the never ending cycle reoccurring. Her prince had run off with other princesses, and he never got the help he needed to be a husband and father.
After a precious second undeserved blessing was given, a beautiful daughter, the girl realized prayerfully that she couldn’t save the man. The situation was unsafe for her and her children.
So, the girl moved in with her parents and finished her last year of school as a single mother wearing a wedding ring, still hoping her fairy tale would come back together. It never did, and a judge dissolved what the judge in a cold courtroom had joined. The Lord resides with the brokenhearted, even in cold courtrooms.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalms 34:18
A couple years later, the woman and her two beautiful babies were happy. She received a good job and her walk with the Lord had become the joy of her life. He was her all in all, who redeemed the brokenness caused by the works of her hands.
You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy. Psalms 30:11
If you haven’t figured it out yet, I am the lady in the story. 😉 I was one very outmatched mama when I tried to do things on my own! Once I surrendered every aspect of my life to the Lord Jesus Christ, He turned my mourning to dancing and my ashes to beauty. He made me a new creature, and changed my life completely!
I was still an exhausted mama, but life was better for us than it had been. One day, when I least expected it, I meet this incredibly handsome man who loved the Lord. He loved that I had babies, and said a lot of wonderful things that I was hesitant to believe.
I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten… Joel 2:25
Our first dates were in church services (after I had dropped my kids off in the nursery – he was not allowed to meet them) and on my 30 minute lunch breaks at work. Once we started praying and talking about marriage, I figured this amazing man had better meet my kiddoes!
He was amazing with them, and every word he said about wanting them was true. My daughter asked him to be her daddy, and what was mine became ours. He has lived up to the title bestowed by a two year old every day since then.
We planned a wedding in four months, moved a couple hours away so he could finish school, and the Lord blessed us with another precious son. We now enjoy being a homeschooling family together. God is good!
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Tiffany
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