“After rocky teenage and college years of partying and not living my life for the Lord, He brought me to Dallas and eventually to The Porch, a ministry for young adults at Watermark. I slowly left my old ways and habits behind and committed my life to Christ.
“I also met my husband Andrew through The Porch at Watermark, and then we eventually got married in the Chapel here. God used the refining and challenging first few years of marriage to draw us closer to Him and each other.
“After trying to conceive for a year, we realized something wasn’t right. Through multiple doctor visits and with the help of women in Watermark’s infertility ministry, Shiloh, we finally found a doctor who was able to identify the root cause of the issue. During my first surgery, I was diagnosed with an extreme case of endometriosis, which causes severe pain and impacts fertility. Hearing this news made the dream of becoming parents even more distant. During my extended recovery time in the hospital, I saw the Lord work through His people, specifically my husband, our families, and our community group.
“A year after the surgeries, we found ourselves still waiting for the good gift of a child. I found myself at a really low point. There were many times that I questioned if I believed God was good and had good plans for me. I felt like an Israelite wandering the desert, not knowing when our heartbreak would end, or like Job wondering why a good God would allow this to happen to us. I watched and celebrated as friends became pregnant and had kids of their own. It was a daily battle for me not to let resentment affect my love for God or my care for those around me. He knew the desires of my heart, and He wasn’t giving them to me. I had to break down so many lies that I was tempted to believe and the guilt I was tempted to carry and feel.
“Before we got married, we both talked about wanting to adopt. However, we started to see that this desire was something the Holy Spirit was calling us both to pursue as our next step. We found Legacy Adoption Services, a Christian-based adoption agency, through research and recommendations from other couples at Watermark. What we loved most was how Legacy strives to love birth mothers well through counseling, mentorship, and showing them the gospel before and after placement.
“Then, in May, days after returning home from an extended vacation, we received an urgent call from our caseworker.
“Our caseworker shared that a mom and her two-week-old baby walked into Watermark Health’s clinic that day. We didn’t receive much information beyond that and were told we had 15 minutes to decide if we were going to say yes to adopting this baby.
“Andrew and I realized that if we said yes, we would be walking home with a baby that very day. We knew this was a life-changing decision and felt nervous, scared, and overwhelmed. At the time, our caseworker wasn’t aware of our deep history with Watermark. Our agency serves the entire state of Texas, so as we began to pray on this decision, we kept thinking, ‘This isn’t a coincidence that we (Watermark members who were baptized, met, and married at Watermark) were called about a case right down the road at Watermark Health, where a baby is being cared for by members of our church body.’ There are many things you can try to plan for in adoption, but this was something we never expected.
“After a tearful conversation and prayers, we felt the most faithful decision was to say yes!
“We walked into Watermark Health and met with the nurses, the caseworker, and the birth mom. She immediately handed the baby to Andrew. It was a beautiful moment where we got to love and care for our new baby and her birth mom together.
“With help from Watermark Health, our community group, and family, we were able to bring our daughter, Shiloh, home within three hours of receiving the call.
“We learned that the birth mom decided to go to Watermark Health that day because she knew it was a safe place where she would be listened to. I could have never fathomed that this idea for Watermark Health 10 years ago put into action to serve our city would eventually personally touch my family and be a part of my daughter’s adoption story. You just never know the seeds you are planting when you’re faithful to what the Lord is asking of you.
“That day, our community group and families rushed to help us get diapers, formula, and food (they even cleaned our kitchen for us!) to welcome Shiloh into our house.
“Infertility and endometriosis were both such painful, challenging things to walk through, but I can see the Lord’s hand in every step. Had we not tried to get pregnant or had the wisdom of people who had walked this road before, we would not have learned that I had endometriosis. Even during the depths of our monthly grief, when our story didn’t have a ‘happy ending’ yet, I trusted that God still had a plan for our family. Now, I see that every step guided by the Lord brought us our daughter and ultimately closer to Him.”