March 2019

   When we became pregnant for the first time, we were so excited and hopeful.  About six weeks later, we had a miscarriage and were heartbroken…but still hopeful.  A couple of months later we were pregnant again and couldn’t believe how blessed we were to so quickly have another chance to have a baby.  Eight weeks later, another miscarriage...more heartache, less hope. We prayed that God would bless us with a child.  We talked about adoption, but we weren’t ready to move in that direction. 
 
   A year and a half after our 2 ^nd miscarriage, we became pregnant again.  We couldn’t believe it!  We were so happy but also scared that we would have another miscarriage, which we did 6 weeks later…on our five-year wedding anniversary.  We were devastated.  We knew that God had a plan for us, but apparently it was different from our own plan.  We were so full of pain and grief, and Mario was angry at God for the death of our children.  It was a very dark time in our lives and in our marriage.  By the grace of God, we were able to come through this dark time.  We went to counseling and to a marriage retreat, both of which really helped to unite us and to strengthen our marriage.  We decided to open our hearts to adoption and trust in Jesus by saying to Him that He knows what’s best for us and “thy will be done.”
 
    While we were still trying to adopt, we went to Miami to visit Mario’s cousin for Thanksgiving.  One night while celebrating Mario’s birthday, we found out that a close family friend had two nephews she was trying to raise since custody had been taken away from her sister due to drug use.  Mario asked her their ages – 2 and 3.  Were they boys – yes, brothers.  Were they Spanish - yes.  He said, “We’ll take them!”  Everyone started laughing, and we kind of brushed it off as a joke.  However, we secretly thought the boys would be a perfect fit for us.
 
    We went back home and pretty much forgot about this conversation.  Then about a month later in December, the boys’ aunt called to see if we were serious about wanting to adopt the boys.  We told her we were!!  She said that she and her dad (the boys’ grandfather) wanted us to adopt the boys because they believed the boys really needed a mom and a dad and not just an auntie and grandpa.  We couldn’t believe it!!  Was all of this true?  Was this actually going to happen?  We prayed to Jesus that if it was His will for us to adopt the boys, then to please let it happen sooner rather than later.  We met the boys for the first time the following March and by August, they were living with us and attending school at St. Catherine.  We knew that it must be God’s will for us, since everything fell into place so quickly.  You know, people often tell us, we saved those boys’ lives, but actually, they saved OUR lives. It has been quite a journey!  God is good!!
 
    Our journey wasn’t easy, and naturally, we were afraid to give up control of our destiny, but by the grace of God we were able to “give up control” and trust in Him along the way.  We came to realize that we are not in control; God is in control, and we are called to trust His plan for us. This trust in God led us to move from demanding Him to bless us with a child to praying to Him, “Thy Will be done.”  We think that this is something we are all called to pray, whether we are struggling with infertility, despair, or something else in our lives.  Our God is faithful, and we should never doubt His love or His plan for us.  As Romans 12:12 says, we should always strive to "rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer."