Anderson's Story

Oh, there is so much to tell about our precious baby, Anderson. I don't know where to start with this little one's story... Perhaps I need to just start at the very beginning.

It was almost a year ago today... I had just recently finished my comprehensive exams in Dallas, Texas, for my PhD work; and I was in a great mood. I was done studying. I was done writing (for the moment). James, Austin, and I had enjoyed the summer together and a new school year was fresh underway. I was teaching PreK across the hallway from Austin's class, and James was really enjoying his new career.

I thought that something might be different, however, so...

I took a pregnancy test and it confirmed right away what I already thought in my heart.

We were going to have a baby!

... and I will be honest, in those moments, I was completely overwhelmed.

We had been praying for several dear friends who were battling infertility. James and I were in the process of rebuilding our own marriage. We no longer owned a home. I was just about to start the dissertation phase of a PhD. My sister-in-law had just discovered that she was pregnant (and I didn't want to steal any attention away from that news).

I will never forget telling Austin that I needed a few minutes of quiet time and allowing him to watch a movie in the living room. I slowly walked to the master bedroom and shut the door. I sat up on our bed and immediately began to pray. "Lord, are you sure? Is this your plan? How am I going to tell James? What is James going to say?"

And over and over again in my mind, I could only hear one verse, "I will restore what the locusts have eaten."

"Lord, will you work all of this out?"

"I will restore what the locusts have eaten."

"God, will you prepare James' heart for this news."

"I will restore what the locusts have eaten."

No matter how many questions I asked or how fervently I prayed, this one Bible verse kept replaying over and over in my mind. It is from Joel 2:25. It says, "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten."

Here is how another blogger describes locusts: "A few years ago, I watched a TV program on wild locusts and the way they destroyed everything that stood in their path. With devastating effect, they descended upon a field of corn. Within half an hour the swarm wiped out the entire field of corn, leaving nothing but a vast wasteland."

and another writer says, "Locusts! Have you seen what they can do? They can literally decimate a crop in minutes. Rendering whole villages , farmers and their families without food or income. Can you imagine the pain and stress that having your livelihood taken away like that brings? Having your crops destroyed may create a struggle for your very survival."

I can relate. For those that don't know our story, James and I have faced our share of locusts in recent years. Locusts that left us without jobs, without income, without a home, and hanging on by only strands at what was left of our marriage. My dad continues to battle a terminal illness and everything that I had counted on for security was gone. I was in a struggle for my very survival...

The locusts had eaten. They had ravaged. They had destroyed.

And then we found out about Anderson.

To be continued...