Surprised!
My niece, Lindsey, is celebrating another birthday this week and, as usual, I can't help thinking about that day, thirty-some years ago, when she joined the family. But the story really started several years earlier.
Bill and I were married just a few months after his sister, JoAnn, married Bill Lathrop. I finished college in Nebraska before we moved to Michigan. JoAnn finished college after she was married, too, and she and Willy lived in Omaha for a few years before they moved to Gering. JoAnn and Willy found out that they were unable to have a baby naturally, so they decided to pursue adoption. Bill and I had decided to wait at least five years before having a baby, but when the time came, we also faced infertility issues. We looked into adoption, too, but when we found out that there was a seven year waiting list to adopt an infant in Michigan, we decided to seek the help of a fertility specialist instead.
Bill and I were married just a few months after his sister, JoAnn, married Bill Lathrop. I finished college in Nebraska before we moved to Michigan. JoAnn finished college after she was married, too, and she and Willy lived in Omaha for a few years before they moved to Gering. JoAnn and Willy found out that they were unable to have a baby naturally, so they decided to pursue adoption. Bill and I had decided to wait at least five years before having a baby, but when the time came, we also faced infertility issues. We looked into adoption, too, but when we found out that there was a seven year waiting list to adopt an infant in Michigan, we decided to seek the help of a fertility specialist instead.
Bill and I both wanted a baby badly, but I can’t say that we agonized over it, because we were sure that God heard our prayers and would add children to our family at the right time and in the right way. Even so, waiting wasn't easy.
Then, seemingly out of the blue, Bill won a free round-trip airline ticket from Traverse City to anywhere in the country, so we scraped up enough money for a second ticket, and flew to Denver to spend Easter week, and my birthday, with Bill's family in Gering. My parents surprised us by driving the 400 miles to Gering to join us for the weekend. It was a wonderful trip that made us start thinking even more about our future.
Then, seemingly out of the blue, Bill won a free round-trip airline ticket from Traverse City to anywhere in the country, so we scraped up enough money for a second ticket, and flew to Denver to spend Easter week, and my birthday, with Bill's family in Gering. My parents surprised us by driving the 400 miles to Gering to join us for the weekend. It was a wonderful trip that made us start thinking even more about our future.
On the flight home to Michigan, Bill and I decided that it might be time to move closer to our families, so we prayed together and discussed options all the way home. By the time we touched down in Traverse City, we had decided to move to Gering.
Immediately, I submitted my resignation at the school where I taught, and we got ready to put our house up for sale, even though the economy in Michigan was terrible because of sky-high mortgage interest rates (18%) and equally high unemployment. Bill was self-employed in construction at that time, so he could work for as long as necessary before we moved, even if the work continued to be somewhat sporadic. Some of our friends and relatives thought we were crazy, and more than a little foolish, but we trusted that God was guiding our decision, and that He would provide a way for us to move when the time was right.
Then, one beautiful spring evening in early May, we got a phone call that only reinforced our decision to move. Bill and I were sitting in the living room right after supper, with the evening sun streaming in the west window, when the phone rang. Bill answered it, and I sat on the floor close by, as I often did when someone called long-distance, so I could listen in on Bill's end of the conversation. It was unusual for any of our family to call us on a weeknight, when long-distance rates were high, so we knew something important had happened. Right away, Bill's dad told him why he was calling, and he was so excited! JoAnn and Willy had just left for Omaha to pick up their newborn baby girl!
As I was sitting there on the living room floor, just listening to Bill talking to his dad, all of a sudden I became aware of God’s presence there with me, and I heard Him tell me clearly, “NOW you can have a baby!”
It is an understatement to say that I was surprised.
There was no such thing as a quick home pregnancy test back then, so I had to wait for twelve l-o-n-g days after a missed period, and then take a urine sample to the doctor’s office to have a test done. But it was only a couple of weeks later when we found out that I was really, truly pregnant.
I don’t know why our baby's birth depended upon Lindsey's birth and adoption, but it did. I think it sometimes sounds trite when people say that “It’s all part of God’s plan,” but in this case, that’s all I can say. God’s plan continued to unfold that summer, as we were able to sell our house for the full asking price, more than double what we had paid for it four years earlier, at a time when houses in Michigan were not selling at all. We began moving in late August, and arrived in Gering early in September, after staying in Fairbury with my family for a few days. Our first daughter, Erin, was born in late January, just about nine months after Lindsey was born.
It was a joy for me to be able to take care of Lindsey, along with Erin, during the next school year while JoAnn taught high school in Lyman. Our families have been close ever since our girls arrived. I know that we’ve provided lots of support for each other over the years.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
Immediately, I submitted my resignation at the school where I taught, and we got ready to put our house up for sale, even though the economy in Michigan was terrible because of sky-high mortgage interest rates (18%) and equally high unemployment. Bill was self-employed in construction at that time, so he could work for as long as necessary before we moved, even if the work continued to be somewhat sporadic. Some of our friends and relatives thought we were crazy, and more than a little foolish, but we trusted that God was guiding our decision, and that He would provide a way for us to move when the time was right.
Then, one beautiful spring evening in early May, we got a phone call that only reinforced our decision to move. Bill and I were sitting in the living room right after supper, with the evening sun streaming in the west window, when the phone rang. Bill answered it, and I sat on the floor close by, as I often did when someone called long-distance, so I could listen in on Bill's end of the conversation. It was unusual for any of our family to call us on a weeknight, when long-distance rates were high, so we knew something important had happened. Right away, Bill's dad told him why he was calling, and he was so excited! JoAnn and Willy had just left for Omaha to pick up their newborn baby girl!
As I was sitting there on the living room floor, just listening to Bill talking to his dad, all of a sudden I became aware of God’s presence there with me, and I heard Him tell me clearly, “NOW you can have a baby!”
It is an understatement to say that I was surprised.
There was no such thing as a quick home pregnancy test back then, so I had to wait for twelve l-o-n-g days after a missed period, and then take a urine sample to the doctor’s office to have a test done. But it was only a couple of weeks later when we found out that I was really, truly pregnant.
I don’t know why our baby's birth depended upon Lindsey's birth and adoption, but it did. I think it sometimes sounds trite when people say that “It’s all part of God’s plan,” but in this case, that’s all I can say. God’s plan continued to unfold that summer, as we were able to sell our house for the full asking price, more than double what we had paid for it four years earlier, at a time when houses in Michigan were not selling at all. We began moving in late August, and arrived in Gering early in September, after staying in Fairbury with my family for a few days. Our first daughter, Erin, was born in late January, just about nine months after Lindsey was born.
It was a joy for me to be able to take care of Lindsey, along with Erin, during the next school year while JoAnn taught high school in Lyman. Our families have been close ever since our girls arrived. I know that we’ve provided lots of support for each other over the years.
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| Erin and Lindsey, with our dog, Ramsey |
We don’t always know why God allows certain things to happen, and we don’t always understand his plans, but over the years, Bill and I have learned that we can trust that He is in control, and that He will always be with us, no matter what happens. And sometimes, along the way, He surprises us in ways that far surpass our expectations.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
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