Six Years and Six Months - A Guest Post by Harlan

This time 6 years ago I was eagerly anticipating my wedding day. It was four and a half years in the making and I could hardly wait. Rachel and I had gone through engagement counseling and read books on marriage and love languages and conflict resolution. We had advice from our parents and from friends that had gotten married before us. You could say we were prepared, and as I mentioned in a previous post we had a 5 year plan. Well, you can't prepare for what you don't see coming. That goes for both the blessings and the curses.

In the first four years we were married Rachel and I moved in and out of jobs, bought a house, bought a car, raised a dog, attended 2 churches, traveled to Mexico 3 times, drove to Colorado, opened retirement accounts, had wisdom teeth removed, made new friends, lost touch with old ones, and generally experienced a lot of growth in our marriage both spiritually and physically (yes, that's me).

The fifth year, though, was horrendous. I say that with Rachel's permission as she would agree with me.

First, I lost my business just as it was taking off.  It wasn't something I was prepared for at all. I was depressed, scared, and didn't know how to deal with the sudden loss of income. I'm sure a lot of the grey in my beard can be attributed to this experience.

In the midst of trying to find a new job, our air conditioning blew up in the hottest part of the summer and we had to completely replace the entire HVAC. That was just wrong.

The worst of it all was my year long journey with Rachel through infertility. (I don't wish this on any marriage and unfortunately more and more of our friends are facing this battle. It's a drain emotionally and financially so please reach out if you are dealing with it.) While it was hard I knew God was walking with us and had faith that he would answer our prayers to have a child. Losing the first pregnancy at Christmas was a final, cruel blow to that struggle and we were absolutely not prepared for it. We had questions for God that were going unanswered and we were just plain angry and confused.

As bad as it was, 2010 was a defining year for us and one that we will never forget because it challenged our faith in God's promises and allowed us to come face to face with Jesus. Who knew that three weeks after the worst year of our lives God would reveal himself in such grandiose fashion? Boom! There's a gestational sac. Boom! There's a heartbeat, a spine, a brain, a nose, fingers and toes. Boom! You wanted a baby, you got one. In just a blink of an eye, God turned our lives upside down, in fantastic way. Are we prepared? You tell me.

Six years into our marriage and six months into our pregnancy, it's amazing to see what God can do if you trust Him. Out of the ashes of our experience with job loss, financial burden, infertility and miscarriage, He brought life, literally. As we prepare for this baby girl we are reading the right books, taking the right classes, and getting advice from family and friends. We have a plan for it all but know with 100% certainty that the only way to get through the next 18 years is to continue to trust, pray, wait patiently for God to reveal Himself. I honestly can't wait.

Thanks for reading,

His Beardness

A few quick snapshots:

Belly Growth (after a big anniversary breakfast)

Beard Growth

Anniversary Cake with Cake Topper from our Wedding!