4 Months Ago Today.... Reflecting on Our Story

4 months ago today …when I think about the significance of that day I still get goose bumps. When I think about July 15th ,I often think about the story that God has written for Bennett’s life. His short little life already bears so much significance. I sometimes feel like God has brought more fruit from Bennett’s 4 little short months of life than he has pushed to squeak out of my 28 years:) I have always believed that there is a plan for every single life He creates, but until 4 months ago; it was never so obvious that God is in the driver’s seat for a reason. His plan is better than anything I could have fathomed. He writes better stories than Nicholas Sparks ever could. God started writing Bennett’s story long before he joined our family........


God was watching as a young, newly married couple embarked on their journey to start a family. He watched the excitement on their face each time they thought the little stick might turn pink and he held them close every time they met with the disappointment that this quest to start a family might take longer than they thought. In their hearts they knew that He had a plan for their family, but in their human nature, they grew weary of waiting. Through the months, God grew this couple closer. He knew that they still needed some time before they would be ready to become parents…maybe this was because he saw how terrible a job this couple was doing with their very high maintenance doggie….or maybe he just wanted to give them more time.


As the leaves changed and the cold moved in God was working a miracle in their lives. He was creating three new little people that would forever change them. As the leaves turned colors, so did that little stick…He turned that little stick pink (ten times to be exact).... and they quickly began preparing to embark on the parenting journey they had been dreaming of. But their highest highs quickly turned into their lowest lows when they found out that the baby that had been growing with them for ten short weeks had gone home to heaven. They cried and prayed and cried and prayed wondering why God had chosen them to bear this burden. After waiting so long, how could he take this baby away? What they did not know was that God was working. As their baby was going to heaven, God was creating two more very special new lives. They “prayed for their child and the Lord granted what they asked of Him.” 1 Samuel 1:27

They would not know right away that in their brokenness God was restoring them to new life. God was creating the most special gift for them.


As the seasons turned again and the flowers began to bloom, the couple felt called to a different path. Watching the little stick month after month was taking its toll and they felt God had something else in mind for them. He turned their eyes and hearts toward adoption. As they changed course on their journey, they felt energized by the hope that at the end of the journey they would be blessed with a child. And after less than two months of waiting, a message came that they had been matched with a child. This was the second of the three special persons that would forever change their lives. This was a little girl. A baby girl due to be born in July. And so the couple once again started making preparations for parenthood. Momma started making arrangements for the nursery and started collecting a wardrobe of precious pink. Daddy started baby proofing the house dreaming of what lied ahead for their little girl. After two months of praying for that baby and her birthmother, they were once again met head on with devastating news. Baby Lucy would not be coming home with them in July. God had a different plan for Baby Lucy. And although the couple wept for the loss of her and did not understand how God could take away another baby from them; they believed that she had come into their lives for a reason. They believed that her very lost birthmother had needed their prayers to get through that pregnancy and they believed that one day God would bring them the child he created for them. What they did not know was that He was working overtime.


On the very Sunday that the couple lost Baby Lucy, God was bringing a third little life into the world…six weeks ahead of schedule. As the couple cried their tears, God was working on the most special gift for them, a gift that would dry all the tears from their eyes. As the week went by, the couple’s grief lessened and their desire to continue on the journey grew. Three days passed and they both woke up on the morning of the 15th knowing the significance of the day. This was the 15th of July…this was the day that the baby they had miscarried seven months ago would have been due. Neither mentioned to each other that morning what they were thinking but the significance of that date weighed heavy on their minds. What they did not know was that God would use the significance of this day to work a miracle. On their very due date God would bring them the child that they had been waiting for. By 11 am the call came telling them that there was a little boy, just 3 days old, and his birthmother had picked them to be his parents. The papers were all signed and their son was just waiting for them in a NICU in El Paso, TX. It was official. They packed their life up into the car; made arrangements for the pup and by 6 pm they were loaded up driving across the country to meet their new little guy. He came six weeks early…. and it was God’s perfect timing. Had he come a day earlier, the couple would have still been waiting for Lucy, had he come a day later, he may have been matched with a different family. He came at the PERFECT time and how perfect that on that original due date, God gave them this child. Pretty special! God created three little lives that fall of 2009, but Bennett Anthony was the one He created especially for their family.


Little boy Ben.....you have a very special place in this world. How happy we are that God choose us for you! We love you Benny!

4 months ago today, we received this photo in our inbox. This was the first time we laid eyes our baby boy. We haven't taken our eyes off him since!