If it’s on Facebook, then it’s true. We’re having a baby!

Today marks Katie’s 14th week, so we found out back in August. But this journey has been nearly a year in the making. In the fall of last year, we began talking more about entering that next stage of life, and we came to find out the journey brought along some speed bumps.

We tried and tried and tried for what seemed like forever, though in retrospect it was such a short amount of time. Never-the-less, I know it was hard for Katie to be met with disappointment each month. On top of that, we began to wonder if something was wrong. Like is often the case with struggle, hardship, or suffering, it’s one of those situations that teaches you to be way more sensitive and compassionate towards other couples in whatever their situation may be. For that, we praise God for changing our hearts.

Then, in June, the test came back positive. We were so excited and thankful, but that would only last a couple weeks. We had the unfortunate experience of having a miscarriage, which was by far the hardest thing we had to deal with in our marriage. Again, God allowed us to learn and grow a lot through that time. Our marriage is stronger now than ever, and we’re pretty darn excited to be where we are while heading to this next stage of life.

My hope is that Katie and I will continue to deepen our hope and faith in the God who gives life, and breath, and everything else. Being where we are today, I think we have a much sharper picture of God’s timing and goodness, but this isn’t the end. Now, more than ever, we need to cling to the God that gives us hope.

There is a side of this experience that weighs down our hearts. We have close friends that continue to struggle in child-bearing, or know they that cannot have kids. To be honest, that sucks. A lot. I don’t understand why we of all people are blessed in this way when others aren’t. I am constantly amazed by the grace and patience of our friends who continue to struggle, and we will continue to pray for them.

So there it is. It seems strange to me because there’s no change in me, but I can see a person growing inside of Katie. I know the weight of fatherhood will come in time, but for today I am preparing for the joy and responsibility that’s been given to me. I think Hannah said it best:

“O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head.”

I’m not specifically asking for a son, and our kid will probably get haircuts. Well, maybe. But the point is that God has heard our cry and given us the blessing we asked for, and now we want to turn around and raise our kid in honor of the God we choose to serve. That is the very least and very best thing we could do for a God who is so gracious and so wonderful.