Category Archives: Miracle Baby

Life, Love and Endometriosis

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Beyond thrilled to share a post from my daughter-in-law, Rachel Elkins! This is a huge out-of-her-comfort-zone task, in total obedience to the voice of God. Be blessed as you read her story and feel free to share your own; this is how we fight our battles!

I’m 37 years old and this is my first time writing. I’ve read many encouraging words written by my mother-in-law over the years; my sister-in-law, Alicia, just joined our family last year and she also writes so beautifully.

As a young girl, I proudly watched my mom, who was a pastor’s wife, stand in front of rooms full of women and speak eloquent words. I’m privileged to witness my husband get up every week and lead thousands of people in worship at our church.

And I’ve quietly observed from the corner. I am the person that is terrified when someone approaches me because I don’t think I will have the right words to say.

So, why speak now?  What do I have to say now that is so important?  Maybe it is nothing. But it is 3:00 a.m. and I can’t sleep because these words are on my heart.

Yesterday, I had my third surgery in 12 years for Endometriosis. This will be my last surgery like this because I’ve been told that I will need a hysterectomy by the age of 40. Endometriosis is a very painful disease and thousands of women suffer with it. Like so many others, there have been countless days when I can barely get out of bed, times I’m in so much pain that I have to cancel plans, or even days I’m in tears as I dig out my baggiest clothes to cover my bloated stomach that seems to be twice its normal size.

For some reason, many women with this disease, or other diseases, deal with it in silence. Why?  For me, I have spent so many years feeling guilty to complain or maybe even felt that it was all in my head.  As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that I can go through sufferings in my life by myself or I can share with others in hope that somehow my words can encourage.

Isn’t that what God has called us to do?

I’ve actually had other sufferings in my life that I haven’t spoken very much about. I have experienced a lot of loss in my “short” life. I lost my dad when I was six years old from an accident at his workplace. I also lost my only brother, very unexpectedly, a few years ago. I realized that I could go through that without saying anything or I could use that hurt to minister to someone in the same situation. You would never understand that kind of loss unless you’ve experienced it yourself.

If you know me at all, you know that I have also struggled for 13 years with infertility.  Unless you were family or a close friend, you didn’t hear me talk about it until about a year before I got pregnant (Yes, I said pregnant!  We have a beautiful, smart, spunky little two year old girl.) I didn’t know at the time why, but I felt very strongly to share my testimony of God’s faithfulness even though He hadn’t given me a baby yet. My husband and I made a video and it was posted on our church’s Facebook page. (Go watch it! Or wait until you are finished with this article, but be sure and see it.) We spoke of the hurt, but also the love, that God had given us for each other through all of it. We were honest in saying that we trusted His plan for us, baby or not. Hard words to say out loud!  Little did I know that it would reach thousands of people and encourage so many women in the same situation.

After I had my daughter, I remember the moment God spoke to me and said that I needed to use my experience to help others. It took me about another year to be obedient, but my friend, who also dealt with infertility, and I have recently started an infertility support group at our church. Being very introverted, I could never imagine being able to do it, but God called and He helps me every time I have to speak!  I’m not saying it’s easy!  I’ve had to look at these women and say the words I hated to hear when I was in their situation; things such as, “God has a perfect plan for your life” and “It’s all in God’s timing”. But I can honestly say that because there are no truer words.

After losing my brother in January 2015, things were bad!  I was grieving hard and I had to watch my mom grieve once again and I was mad. My husband and I were having a hard time. We went and packed up my mom who lived in another state and moved her in with us so she could have some time to heal. A couple months later I took the first pregnancy test I had taken in about 10 years. Complete shock is an understatement when we saw the word positive!

God knew!  He knew the exact moment we would need our little miracle. She has healed our family in so many ways that I’ll never be able to explain.

Another topic that we seem to avoid is struggles in our marriages.  I have an amazing husband of 16 years and we have a pretty wonderful marriage. I love him more now than ever before, but there have been lows for sure!  Did I ever admit them to anyone else? Nope! Why?  Pride, that’s why.  Who wants to admit they are having a rough patch with their spouse?  No one does. But if I don’t admit vulnerability and imperfections, then how can I expect a newly wed couple to look at us and think they are ever going to make it if they think we are always perfect?

Romans 5:3-5 says it so well. “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” 

Such beautiful words and such a timely message for today.

I know that there are far worse diseases than endometriosis and there are worse situations than not being able to get pregnant for 13 years. I also understand that most people experience loss at some point, but these are my experiences and I believe now more than ever before that God allows our trials so that we can use that pain to minister and lift up others that are hurting.

Maybe it is difficult for you, as it was for me, to put yourself “out there” and allow the world to see your insecurities and even your flaws. Can I challenge you to let God use those obstacles in your life to make you stronger and then use that strength and wisdom to bless someone else? Nothing is impossible with our God!

Rachel Elkins has been attached to Kyle for over 16 years and they were blessed 2 1/2 years ago with the miracle that is Norah Jayne. Rachel leads an infertility support group at her church, The Experience Community, where Kyle is the full-time Worship Pastor. She is the co-owner and event planner at Southern Graze, where she helps create fabulous spreads for any occasion. You can find her most days in the ‘Boro chasing butterflies, playing house or building castles in the sand with Princess Nor-Nor. 

 

 

 

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Loving so much it hurts

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Loving so much it hurtsWe have another year behind us with opportunity and anticipation ahead. One thing we cannot say is that 2016 was boring. I won’t bore you with a repeat of all the highlights from the past year, you will see enough of that on social media.

I have reflected on the year personally, as I am sure you have. This 55th year of my birth brought many, many changes for me and The Sweetheart.

  • Norah Jayne. The miracle we have waited more than ten years for finally arrived 4/2/16. She literally lights up our lives. Those eyes and that smile melt me and if I could give her the world I would.
  • We moved. Well, of course we moved! Six hours south to be near Norah Jayne. A new city, a new church, some old and some new friends, all because of a miracle.
  • I went to work full time. For those that know me at all, I was blessed when My Three Sons were all home to be there for them. Then, with pastoring and traveling, etc., I was busy with curriculum editing for Revival By Design the last five years. Now, I want to be available for Norah, but still have some money to spend on headbands and bows, so I now work at night, from home, for Amazon customer service, in my pajamas if I want!

Norah has brought so many changes to my world, the list could easily be longer. I miss my family back in Indiana terribly but when I walk in the door and that little face brightens up when she sees me and those arms reach out for her Nana…well…I have to admit I am in heaven on earth.

Love so much it hurts at times. I want her to be able to climb up in my lap and know that all is well. I want her to know she is loved and that in the arms of her family she is safe and cared for. (Don’t worry, she is!) But I think about her when I am not with her, I miss her if it’s more than a day or two, and naturally, I don’t want her to forget me.

I have been with The Sweetheart for 40 years, married for 37. It seems as if we have always been a couple, an item, a duo. I can’t imagine my life without him and if I allow my head to go there, to try to imagine losing him, my heart feels as if it would break in two. Many of you reading this, that have experienced that loss, can relate to that. You love so much it hurts!

In 2012, Marjorie and James Landis of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, died just 88 minutes apart. They had been married 65 years. One couldn’t imagine surviving and going on without the other.

A few years ago a group of doctors at Johns Hopkins University reported a rare but lethal heart condition caused by acute emotional distress. The technical name is stress cardiomyopathy; we call it broken heart syndrome. A current example of this would be the actresses Debbie Reynolds and her daughter, Carrie Fisher. Literally heartbroken over the death of her daughter, Debbie Reynolds suffered a stroke and died one day after her beloved daughter. She is reported to have said that she just wanted to be with Carrie.

I was thinking of all of that in prayer time today. I reflected on the past year and the many blessings of the Lord: the good, the bad, the ugly and the wonderful. I was thankful for it all because God was with me, He was faithful.

And for His love, the love He had for us. He loved so much it hurt too. He came as an infant, knowing He would be wounded, physically, verbally, etc., but He still came. He also knew He would give so much that it hurt; physical torture and rejection from His own people. But that love trumped pain, it triumphed over rejection and even abandonment. He paid the ultimate price all because He loved us so much.

He would do it all again you know; just as you would stand in the gap for your children and grandchildren. You would take the punishment for them, you would likely give your life for them because you love so much.

As we enter a new year, uncertainties abound: Political unrest, terrorism that grows increasingly close to our door and endtime prophecy being fulfilled all around us. The one thing that is definite is that we are loved, we are cared for and we are safe in the arms of our Father. We can climb up in His lap, so to speak, and be assured that whatever comes our way, whatever 2017 holds for us as God’s children, He will be faithful to His Word. Persecution may come, difficulties may be present but He will walk with us through any fire or trial. He will never leave us nor forsake us.

That’s a Father’s love for His children. Unconditional, unwavering, a really good hurt.

 

 

The Daniel Fast DevotionalIt’s that time of year again…a time of reflection, renewal and denial. Many churches begin corporate fasts at the beginning of the New Year and individuals choose a fast of some kind as well. Pick up a copy of The Daniel Fast, a Devotional! Available in Kindle and paperback, it’s an easy read, full of 21 days of devotions for ANY FAST. There are also daily recipes for the Daniel Fast or a no meats, no sweets fast if you choose that route. Whatever you do, fast unto the Lord! Click on the book or this link to order from Amazon.com!

Jesus is a Waymaker

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Jesus is a Waymaker.

The night I brought my first newborn home from the hospital I rocked him to sleep. And I sang. Rocking away in that uncomfortable chair, not a care in the world (as long as he wasn’t screaming) and singing Jesus Loves Me or the morbid lullaby, Rockabye Baby in the Treetop. As time went on, I began to widen my repertoire and sang songs that I created impromptu. Somehow, silly as they were, I could make them rhyme and even though they were not going to make it into a Dr. Seuss book OR a Dr. Spock instruction manual, My Three Sons loved them.

Fast forward 35 years and enter Norah Jayne. The very first time I was able to rock her to sleep? I sang. What came out were old choruses from church services gone by. I am a huge fan of the “new” worship songs, can sing along with KLove like nobody’s business but when I sit in that rocking chair, Jesus is a Waymaker.

If you have never heard it, the lyrics are:

Jesus, He is a Waymaker
Jesus, He is a Waymaker
Jesus, He is a Waymaker
One day, He made a way for me
One day, when I was lost in sin
One day, Jesus took me in
One day, He made a way for me

The tune is upbeat and catchy and it has become Norah’s favorite. I used to go into an entire medley of old choruses, from Isn’t He Wonderful, I Call Him Jesus, My Rock, When I think of the goodness of Jesus and all He has done for me….you get the idea. But as Norah grew from a few weeks old to a couple of months, she became particular. She wanted one song and one song only and that was Jesus is a Waymaker. It has become such a part of the two of us that, if she is fussing, I can start singing that song and she will immediately calm down and go to sleep.

(Btw, I can sing this song even in the middle of the Dixie Stampede pre-show and Norah will go to sleep!)

It is true that Norah doesn’t know much about Jesus making a way for me, you or anyone else. She doesn’t realize that she is a miracle sent from Heaven and only Jesus could have made a way. This sweet baby isn’t aware of the many times God has answered other prayers right on time. Norah has never read the Word, hasn’t prayed a prayer and doesn’t understand the word, Hallelujah. Until she is old enough to comprehend, she just takes comfort in the Name that her mommy, daddy and grandmothers sing about and the peace and serenity it brings to her every single time.

Jesus is a Waymaker

You see, Jesus IS a Waymaker whether we can see it or not, whether we feel it or not. Even when we don’t understand the reason a family member is suffering, our prayers don’t seem to be answered, the bills have all come due at once, the kids are sick, the tensions are high even in a home where God is first…He is still a Waymaker.

When we find ourselves in those difficult seasons, we need to follow the pattern that this old song has set. First, it DECLARES that Jesus is our deliverer, the way-out-of-the-way, the One who can make clear the path for us. Then, like most great songs, it REPEATS the declaration, not once but two more times! We must remind ourselves WHO it is that CAN make things better, that can deliver us and we must declare it. Once we have done that, we then begin to REPEAT it and remind ourselves of that Truth!

Then the chorus tells WHY we know He is a Waymaker…because one day He made a way for ME. Begin to LIST the times that He has showed up with an answer. DEFINE it! Remember the other prayers He has answered and how it was done.  Play it over in your mind and give God praise for it. The chorus ends with the same declaration, that it was for ME, so DECLARE it again.

Declare it.

Repeat it.

Define it.

Declare it again.

If you have something in your life today that is impossible for man, take it to The Waymaker. Sing this old song if you know the tune, or make up your own, and begin to declare the promises of God while remembering what He has already done for you!

“But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” Jude 1:20,21

It is not only our job to teach our little ones that Jesus will be their Deliverer, Savior, Friend, and Ever-Present-Help-in-Trouble, but we must remind OURSELVES and EACH OTHER that He is STILL a Waymaker, making a way for all of us. So, tomorrow, when something impossible comes against you…

Declare it. Let your spirit know that Jesus is God!

Repeat it. Say it a couple more times and with authority.

Define it. List the things He has done for you or others in the past, building up your faith.

Declare it again! The more we say it, the more we believe it and nothing shall be impossible, according to His will and in His perfect timing.

Do you have a favorite lullaby or song that you sang to your children or to your grandchildren? How are you influencing them for the Kingdom? Share with our community of friends! I found a Gaither version of the song that is very similar to the one I sing to Norah. I didn’t know it had verses and the middle is a little different but the tune is the same. Enjoy! 

For the Kingdom

 

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