The (Not-So) Newlywed Lefebvres
On Fire For Christ & Sharing Our Journey With The World
You should all, by now, know that I just love the blog “Waiting For Baby Bird”. Its author, Elisha, has been such an inspiration to me and Craig through our struggles with infertility.
The post I have included below is one I came across the other day, and it’s all about walking by FAITH.
Allow the Lord to speak to you through Elisha’s words.
For our life is a matter of faith, not of sight.
The particular Bible study Craig and I have been working on mentions seeking God’s Will for your life. Over and over and over again. We have poured over the words and the scriptures associated with the study countless times. We have discussed everything, and talked about how God is working in our lives.
But somewhere along the way, I think we forgot that God’s Will for our lives isn’t always the same as what we WANT it to be. And sometimes it doesn’t seem “fair” – by human measures.
I remember thinking throughout my 20’s how badly I wanted a husband and to be married and settled down and to have a family of my own…But God had other plans for my life at that juncture.
Craig & I both got married under the assumption we would be blessed with a child right away. Neither of us had any known health issues. We were secure financially. We were ready. But God didn’t agree. Here we sit, more than a year and a half later with 2 surgeries under our belt and a long list of other medical items to follow…Here we sit with no positive pregnancy tests, to date. If God’s Will for our marriage right now was to have a child, He would have blessed us already. He is all-powerful.
So what if we stopped thinking about what we want, and resolved to follow God along the path He has aligned for us knowing He will not forsake us. Having faith that He will bless us.
For there is no partiality with God.
That’s right. God does not play favorites – Remembering this has been helpful as we have navigated these stormy waters. He will bless us. We will have children. No matter what doctors tell us or science claims, with God ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.
Interestingly, the moment we ‘gave up’ and let God put us into the palm of His Hand, He began to answer prayers we hadn’t thought of in months – with all the preoccupation on His not having blessed us with children. He began to mold us in ways neither of us could have imagined. Heartstrings that had been being tugged for years, but had been pushed aside because the enemy instills FEAR and DOUBT, were brought back to life, with HOPE and EXCITEMENT!
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
No matter where you are in your walk with Christ, He can turn it around. He can turn your pain into joy, and your mistakes into TREASURE. There is nothing that is impossible with God. Not one single thing. No matter what doctors or science or society says.
God is busy in our marriage right this second! He has some AMAZING things in store for us. The more we bend to His Will, and let go of our own, the more He blesses us and shows us the most beautiful things – right in front of our eyes for so long.
I like to think of our infertility journey in this way: If we hadn’t put so many roadblocks to God’s plan in our lives earlier on, how much sooner would He have brought Craig and I together? I mean, we did live less than a mile from each other without knowing it at one point in our single lives… How much sooner will He increase our family if we stop getting in the way of His well-laid plans?
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That’s right. We. Give. Up.
And we are giving it all to God.
For the past year and a half, (on Saturday, Craig & I celebrated one and a half years of marriage and three years of knowing each other!!!!), we have been trying and researching and going through treatments, therapies, tests, and surgeries in order to reach OUR goal – of having a child.
We still want children and a big family so much it makes our hearts ache, but we want something else even more…
To follow God wherever He leads us.
And obviously, He hasn’t led us to children – yet.
This isn’t to say we have given up on having children…but our first priority is going to be God’s will for our marriage.
I made the call to our fertility clinic yesterday, telling them we are taking a break from all of the testing and medications and hormones. And when I hung up the phone, I expected to feel defeated and saddened.
But I felt exactly the opposite. I felt immediately empowered and excited.
When God blesses Craig & I with a beautiful child – either by natural birth, embryo implantation or adoption – all the glory will be HIS.
In the meantime, I have felt a calling to something more. A calling from God to truly live for Him. We are discerning that call, and already doors are opening and He is speaking…and we have taken that first step – of obedience.
We gave up, and gave it to the Lord.
…since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened—so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what is the wealth of His glorious inheritance in the saints…
You know…sometimes as a Catholic fertility-challenged couple, life is hard – especially so. We get e-mails frequently, more than some of you might imagine, and one question people always seem to ask is:
Why don’t you try IVF?
Yikes…This question is always a touchy one to answer, so here is a general Catholic-doctrine-based answer to all of you who have asked – or may be wondering, silently:
This is not to say I/we condemn or judge anyone who chooses this solution for conception and infertility; however, I certainly have an issue with “cafeteria-style values and religion”, and the Catholic church teaches against this option…and we are Catholic Christians…
When I was allowing God to lead me to my husband via Catholic Match, there was a section in the profile in which you chose which parts of the faith you believed?!?!?! How can you SAY you’re a Catholic and not practice all the tenets of the faith? You cannot pick and choose which parts of a religion or values system you will follow! It’s all or nothing!
The point is:
Trust me, there have been millions of times during this year and a half when I have considered just taking that route. But if we are going to be Catholics, we are going to be Catholics 100%.
Fin.
Fortunately, we were blessed with two reader e-mails recently informing us of some Catholic-friendly options for infertility we weren’t even aware of! How could we not share?
Even if pursuing IVF is something you are currently involved with, perhaps these additional options would be worth looking into, as well. At any rate, as Christians -Catholic or Protestant – we know that all good things come from above:
17 All generous giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change.
If you are infertile, the most important thing you can do is to pour your heart out to God. If you are NOT infertile, praying for understanding and compassion, and for the Lord’s Will to be done in the lives and marriages of the infertile is so important.
27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
Pray. For with God, nothing is impossible.
*Don’t forget to enter the giveaway!!! Today, you can TWEET our blog link (use #newlywedlefebvres and @QuiteThePair in your tweet) or you can comment “Enter My Name” in the blog comments section – Doing both, or all 3 if you include yesterday’s chance, will grant you one submission for each ‘task’.
Today was a big day at the Lefebvre household. Pier had her surgery today.
We thank everyone for their continued prayers. Everything went well. My patient is recovering comfortably at home.
My wife is such an amazing wife. She will endure the most difficult of challenges with a smile on her face. We are both putting faith forward in that the Lord will bless us very soon. I can not ask for a more devoted and loving wife! I thank God for her each and every day.
Until Tomorrow,
Craig
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Someone pointed out to me the other day, the real trouble with infertility is you are walking around with a broken heart. No matter how much you are dying inside for the precious blessing of a child, you cannot make one appear.
And the more I thought about it, the more I realized we are in mourning.
Mourning for the life you planned out for yourself…and don’t have.
Mourning for the child you want to hold…and can’t.
Mourning for someone to be calling you “Mommy” or “Daddy”… who isn’t there.
The beautiful news is that our mourning can be replaced with the joy of the Lord! We aren’t equipped to “get through this” on our own, and we aren’t supposed to! Call on Him to help you through your mourning, your grief, your pity, your sadness.
For, as Hillsong sings in the song above:
When I call on Jesus, mountains are gonna fall, ’cause He’ll move Heaven and Earth to come rescue me when I call.
God is good, folks. He will pull you through. We just have to let Him.
Prayers for tomorrow, please.
We love you.
Good Morning Monday Folks!
As I mentioned on Friday, we had the pleasure of guest posting Saturday over at Footprints On My Heart, and we would love for you to visit and see this post for yourself! It includes pictures from our trip a year ago (Oh my goodness! It’s been that long?!?!) to Rome, and we think you’ll enjoy it.
In other news, WE HAVE A WINNER!!! The winner of our giveaway is Pamela James! Pamela, please e-mail me with your mailing information, and we’ll send your prize right over! Our runner-up was Beany Lefebvre, and don’t you worry – We have a gift for you, as well! 😉
And our product choice for this week…
…this glass water bottle by Ello! I personally have this very same water bottle and absolutely love it – It’s BPA-free, and dishwasher safe, plus at 22oz, I know I am drinking as much water as possible throughout the day! This little guy goes EVERYWHERE with me – Pure Barre, work, the gym, to the store, on a road trip… The silicone seal means the water stays fresh and the glass keeps it relatively cold. I keep on my nightstand for my 1-2/night ‘wake up in the middle of the night for water’, and have loved that my water is never warm and always tastes delicious! I’m not sure why but cold water tastes so much better in glass than in plastic…but maybe those are just my taste buds. 😉 Try this one for yourself! You won’t be sorry you made this purchase!
Prayer is our other ‘choice’ for the week! We have a LARGE prayer request list, and just ask that you pray for our intentions, as well as let us know how we can pray for you! Fill in the contact form below – It is 100% confidential, and just sends us an e-mail with your prayer requests so we can pray for you! All we ask in return is that you pray for our list too!
Thank you, Jesus, for your healing & blessings!
“…but those who trust in the LORD will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.”
Happy Happy Happy Friday!
Today’s post is a random assortment of great places to visit around the web or in your city.
We hope your weekend is wonderful!! Don’t forget to tune-in SATURDAY (tomorrow) to Footprints On My Heart where we are guest posting!!
And one FINAL reminder, today is the LAST DAY TO REGISTER FOR OUR GIVEAWAY!! Trust me, you’re going to want this precious little book!! Enter to win before it’s too late!
So, this Tuesday, we thought we might have some good news for you…a miracle to share… but we don’t. Not this time. As I was reading one of my favorite blogs’, Waiting For Baby Bird, posts this morning (which you can see too if you’ll click on the link), I completely identified and empathized with my fellow infertile friend. Waiting on God’s timing is tough, especially when that “perfect” timing comes along – in your eyes, that is.
Each time I think about how this day or that month or this situation is PERFECT in every way, shape and form for our miracle conception, I remember that God’s timing and choosing of my perfect spouse was perfect – but I was “ready” (in my mind) MUCH sooner – like YEARS before He brought us together. But waiting on God was the best thing that could ever have happened in my life. So we are waiting and trusting in the Lord for our precious miracle to come along.
He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the Lord! Psalm 113:9
In other TTC news, more fun is around the corner for us! We thought we might possibly be finished with minor surgeries…but alas, we were wrong! About six months ago, I had an HSG (or hysterosalpingogram) test done and my former unhelpful doctor concluded from the results I had a polyp on my right ovary, which resulted in surgery to remove it in October.
The surgery was the first step to getting things on the right track, and thankfully, we were led to our new and thorough and wonderful doctor who showed us the test results from the HSG…and so, we are gearing up for a tuboplasty on Wednesday afternoon, for which I will be under general anesthesia…We are praying this is another step in the right direction…
…and maintaining our faith that the timing and the miracle God has in store for us is more amazing than anything we could possibly fathom.
Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us;
Rest. That sounds great right about now. Prayers – Much appreciated. 🙂
We love y’all – Don’t forget to enter our giveaway! If you don’t have a Facebook account, comment on this blog post and we’ll put your name in the hat ourselves! If you don’t currently “officially follow” our blog, sign up for that too, and we will give you another entry. For those of you who are already followers, sign up through Facebook and indicate you are already a follower by providing your e-mail address.
We want to be sure everyone of you you has the opportunity to win this awesome little book!
Happy Friday!
Look what we’ve got to start the weekend right!
As you probably know, TOMS is a wonderful company that provides one pair of shoes to a needy child for each pair of their shoes sold. How GREAT is that?!? Plus, TOMS are super comfortable, which makes your purchase of them all that much better! Here is a great coupon we came across via (one of my favorite savings sites) Passionate Penny Pincher:
Enter the code NEWSPRING at checkout to receive Free Shipping (yay!)!
Another little something to make you smile? How about a FREE SAMPLE of Burberry Brit Rhythm For Women? Just click the picture below!
And now for one more freebie to make your Friday:
Click the image above for a free delicious waffle Monday through Friday, until Valentine’s Day – so guys, NO, you cannot take your significant other out for a Free Waffle Valentine’s Day Date! 🙂
Hopefully, these deals bring a smile to your face this Friday! If you’re in the Atlanta area, don’t forget about Winter Jam 2014! It begins tomorrow and entry is only $10! You can get more information by clicking the image below.
You’ll also find links to free music downloads and books! 🙂 If you’re not in the Atlanta area, be sure to check out the other locations of the tour to see when the Winter Jam Tour might be in your neck of the woods!
One final thing and then we’ll let you enjoy the rest of your Friday: Please continue to send up your prayers of healing – for us, for a couple very dear to us, for a certain girl close to my heart suffering through issues with her daughter, for all of us trying to conceive… Prayer is the only road to miracles.
Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
The (Not-So) Newlywed Lefebvres 
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