God Gave Me This Child
I can’t remember a time when I did not know about Jesus and his love for me. We weren’t in church every weekend growing up, but the love of Jesus was talked about in our house. I grew up going to church with friends all through school and college, but it was not a priority or a regular occurrence.
My in-laws, Jerry and Jeannie Hollingshead, moved to Dripping Springs in 2001. It was not long before a new acquaintance invited Jerry to help with a Wild Game Dinner. He was thrilled to find a place that he felt so comfortable in. Kyle and I got married in 2003 and moved to Spicewood. We found ourselves in Dripping Springs doing things with the church so often that we decide to move to Dripping Springs to be closer to my in-laws and the Methodist Church that we were thrilled to call home.
In 2004, I was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cervical cancer. This cancer would threaten my hopes of having children. During this time God was showing me love in ways that I am still realizing 20 years later. My oncologist made it her mission to make sure Kyle and I had the best chances of having a family, I was her youngest patient by far. She sent Kyle and I to an amazing fertility specialist. So, before I began chemo and radiation, Kyle and I froze embryos. My radiation doctor decided I was healthy enough to try some experimental procedures with the end hope of me being able to carry a pregnancy. I was invited to take a Disciple 1 class on Sunday nights at church. It was there that I found so much wisdom, joy, friends and friends that were family. It was during this time that I really found my faith. I always knew Jesus loves me, but I discovered my walk with the Lord and was baptized. I learned what fellowship meant and what being God’s hands and feet really looked like.
The friends/family that I made in the Disciple class stayed with me through the years after chemo and radiation. They prayed with me and for me waiting to see if the cancer would come back. They celebrated with me when my doctor told me I was healthy. They were with me when I tried IVF and became pregnant. They were with me in the hospital when I went into labor at 24 weeks and had Joshua who only lived less than 1 day. These friends that were family were with me in the mourning days, weeks and months that followed. They loved me through it. I felt God holding me in the middle of the night, when I was at my lowest, telling me that everything would be all right. He has a plan. I did not know what that plan looked like. I was sad and angry and hurt, but I kept my faith and waited to see what God had in store.
This is when the body of Christ literally stepped in. Melanie Thorton is one of the friends that became family in that Disciple 1 class. She told me she wanted me to have a pregnancy that I didn’t have to worry about and to have a healthy baby. She offered to carry my next embryo when Kyle and I were ready. So that is what we did. It was a lot of craziness and stress, but God gave me the prefect people to add to my family. Adam and Melanie gave us love and hope. We laughed through a lot of the process, because what else can you do? On April 27, 2009, my son was born. He was 6 pounds 6 ounces and 6 weeks early. After being frozen for 4 years, he was ready to get here and he hasn’t stopped moving since (my dad says that he is still trying to warm up).
In the 16 years since Quin was born, DSMC has remained a steadfast part of our lives. We love our extended family. They have continued to pray with us and for us because getting Quin here was just the beginning. We have a teenager now and rely on God to keep getting us through. It really does take a village to raise children, and I love that my child’s village is this church!
This church is the people and the people are amazing. I pray that this congregation always retains that spirit of being the body of Christ, the hands and feet of Christ, wherever they go. I pray you keep your faith and God, no matter how dark your days are, His plan is always more than you can imagine.
-Annie
