Wednesday Morning Bible Study

My church has organized a 10 week women’s bible study on Wednesday mornings that I have been attending with a few gals from my life group. The first day of bible study everyone founds a seat at one of many large round tables. I had planned to save seats for some of my gal pals and so was looking for a table that had enough open spaces for about 4 or 5 of us. I must have looked lost or confused because the pastor’s wife (celebrity moment for me!) stopped and asked if I had someone to sit with. I explained my mission and she spotted a table that looked pretty empty. As I settled in I began to chat with a couple of ladies who were already seated there. I loved them immediately and soon more ladies sat down and we were joined by my friends too! Our table was filled to the max! We took turns introducing ourselves and sharing a little personal information. Through the course of the conversation it was revealed that at least four of the women present had faced infertility or some sort of difficulty getting pregnant. Each one of them spoke to me at some point that first day, telling me that they believed God had planned this meeting, that we were not put at this table by accident, but that they were here for the sole purpose of encouraging me! You see, of the ten or so ladies at our table, I knew three of them on a personal level. Of the remaining six, there were four women who had faced and conquered these problems! One gal adopted, one gal was on her 2nd pregnancy, another had a sweet little girl who was around a year old, and one had given birth to six (6!) children after turning 30! What a huge encouragement that was for me! For one thing, it confirmed in my heart that I want to adopt, no matter what. It also calmed my worries about conception beyond 30. I don’t feel that 30 is too old to have children, but as I near the mark this year I do wonder how many birthing years I have left. As you know I want at least four! I’ve read statistics that talk about how the chances of conceiving lower with each year, and especially after the age of 35, so in my mind it’s time!
We have prayer request cards that we can fill out and hand in, so I do that every few weeks. My prayer is always the same; my husband and I have been married for 4+ years and would love to have children. Please pray that we may have as many blessings as God would shower on us! Well, a few weeks ago, after working late into the night, I planned to take a little nap before bible study and to my disappointment I slept right through it. As sad as I was when I woke up and made the discovery, I have to say I am a teeny tiny bit glad. I have this little issue with shyness (what would you call that?). Come to find out, that day I missed, the sweet wife of our pastor read my prayer card aloud and the whole room prayed for my request. I don’t know how many ladies were there that day, but a few weeks before that, on the first day our studies, there were 300 ladies! So, it’s possible that I had even 200 women all shooting up prayers just for me, my husband, and our babies. I feel totally honored. And a little weepy.
Over the course of the past seven or eight weeks I have been so blessed to have these women in my life on Wednesday mornings! I feel certain that I will treasure these friends for many years. Our table has earned the reputation as the table that stays, and stays, and stays. It seems we just can’t stop talking with one another. Today was no different. Our table leader (the momma of 6) has been telling me about a book called Supernatural Childbirth and brought it to me today. My friend put these practices and scripture into action! This book was written by a woman named Jackie who was told in the 1960’s that she would never be able to have children. That even if she conceived, she would not be able to carry her baby to term. In 1969, before she got married, she told her husband to be about her condition and his reply was “Who said?” Jackie explained to him what her doctors had told her and he said something like; well, that’s not what the bible says. So together they prayed that they could be able to fulfill God’s commandment to be fruitful and multiply. Within a few months she was pregnant but suffered a miscarriage. Together they dug deeper and prayed more. They found scriptures to back up their belief that God would give them children. You gotta read this book because they went on to have FOUR more babies who all were delivered full term and healthy, she even had 9 and 10 pounders! I would love to copy out every bit of their story for you to read but let me just tell you, if you have the desire to have children, even if you don’t have fertility issues, get this book today. You can read in it an hour or two and the back of the book is filled with pages of testimonies from couples who have used scripture and faith to get pregnant and give birth. The book also deals with having calm, God centered, painless deliveries that have wowed doctors and nurses every time.
I know, or know of, so many people who are praying for a baby. I have heard so many stories about women who have dealt with these challenges. Maybe it’s because it’s personal to me so I notice them, or maybe there really are a gazillion couples trying to conceive. Either way, to my wonderful friends who are dealing with some kind of fertility issue; Read. This. Book. To my wonderful friends who hope to one day have children of their own; read this book! It’s all about your faith.