Praising God through the storm

This morning I want to share something very personal with you--which I didn't think I would share (at least right now), but I feel like it's very important for two reasons. The first is to pass along a heartfelt warning, offered with a prayer that someone else will be the better off for it. The second (but not least) is to glorify God and publicly thank him for his grace, of which I am so undeserving. We are all undeserving.

Well, now I must have you really wondering what I could possibly have to share that could be so personal. Just this: I'm going through a miscarriage. I was "diagnosed" last Friday but am still waiting for my body to go through the actual process. I would be 11 weeks this Friday. Now, I know that not everyone who gets pregnant immediately after going off birth control has a miscarriage. There's no scientific evidence proving a correlation; however, I know the same thing happened to at least one other friend of mine, and (I now know) that some doctors speculate that a correlation does exist. I'm sure I would have learned this if I had paid attention/done my research, but I didn't, and here I am--wondering if waiting a month would have made a difference. You can do with that information what you wish, but if that's news to just one person who reads this, then I pray it makes a difference.

Which brings me to my other reason for this post. I think the one thing that is carrying Justin and me through this time is Romans 8:28: "And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." If we did not have our hope in Christ, and if we did not believe that God will use this circumstance for good--this circumstance that never would have happened if this world were not a fallen one--I know that there is NOTHING ELSE that would get us through this. Sure, we'd live to tell about it, but we would have no hope. And I can't imagine what that would be like.

Part of believing that God will work this out for good is being thankful that I can now relate and minister to others who have gone through or will go through this situation. And that's another reason I'm posting this here. I am so grateful to the women in my life who have gone through this, were open about it at that time, and have been willing to relive their experience to walk with me through mine. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It would have been so much harder to believe that I was alone. I want to be brave enough to let others who go through this much too common experience know that they are not alone.

Most of all, I want to be able to encourage others, no matter what their circumstance may be. In the midst of our hurt and our disappointment, Justin and I have joy because we know that we serve a God who is sovereign and good, and not just good but who is good to us even though we are undeserving. A God who creates life and, in this fallen world, takes it away, whether it be in the womb or at age 111. A God who sent his son to die for us and to redeem us from our sin if we will only believe and turn to him. A God who gives us eternal life with him and, I believe, with the child I never got to meet on this earth. Oh, praise God for the hope he has given us in Jesus!

Thank you for your prayers during this difficult time. I'm praying that you all are blessed with the joy of the Lord today.