Happy Sabbath, Church,  It feels good to be back in the house of the Lord. 

I couldn’t allow myself to come back and not testify of the goodness of God. 

God never promised us that this Christian journey would be easy, but instead, He promised He would never leave or forsake us. These last six months of my life have been very tough. Last year we were surprised with our 5th pregnancy. Those first four months were a roller coaster of emotions. As we began to settle in with the idea of a new baby, things changed for the worst. I remember it like it was yesterday. I received the worst call of my life from my midwife. It was the Friday of Impact Miami. She had obtained concerning results from a test I had taken the day before. I cried out to the Lord, who sent me to Isaiah 35. From my understanding, the verse talks about healing now and healing when Christ returns. I took it as the Lord would be doing a miracle and healing my baby now.

I’m grateful to my loving husband, who kept me level-headed and stayed by my side; after two weeks of being unable to confirm what could be wrong, I finally had an ultrasound the day before Thanksgiving—that day made it on the list of the worst days of my life. Over the phone, the doctor broke the horrible news to my husband and me. They found an abnormality, and she would either pass away in my belly or right after birth. He told us that this was a sporadic occurrence, and His recommendation was for immediate termination of the pregnancy. You can only imagine the emotions that we were experiencing in that room. We declined the option to terminate the pregnancy. I was 18 weeks pregnant when we received this horrific news. Let me take this time to thank you, my dear Pastor, Pastor Ruben, for being such an exceptional spiritual leader from that time onward.

I refused to play God. I returned to Church believing and trusting God would turn it around. We didn’t tell many people because 1. We wanted to shield our children since we had a long way to go, and we didn’t want you all to carry such a heavy burden for so long. So as you can imagine, that was quite a job. It was very tough for everyone outside of me to experience this as a normal pregnancy while knowing the possibilities at the end. I want to thank the Lord for a praying mother, praying sisters, my prayer warriors, you all know who you are. Church, if you aren’t active in our daily prayer line, you are truly missing out. Thank you to my noon-day prayer line family. These prayers are what kept and are keeping me sane through this journey. Fast forwarding after many disappointing prenatal appointments, the day arrived for us to deliver. If I were to list all the times God made  himself known to me during this trial, I would take up the entire service.  The first nurse who tended to us at the hospital was “Shiloh.”

The name Shiloh means “ Jesus is our promise of peace.” That reminded me in that moment of that peace that surpasses all understanding. Later, I pushed out my baby girl, and unfortunately, our fears were confirmed. At the same time, I also understood God's answer to me back in November from the book Isaiah 35. He will heal my baby girl when He returns. The room had about ten women. As I wept, my lips moved and proclaimed, “It is well with my soul.” All as my baby was dying in my arms. If God was not with me, I don’t believe I would've been able to utter such words and give God the Glory during one of the darkest hours of my life. 

So, I stand here to say that though God could have ended this trial for me initially, He chose instead to carry me through to the end. 

While the world is in utter chaos, we have an anchor that keeps the soul. He has given us a sure word of prophecy, and we should expect these things we see today. My God is not a man that He should lie, so when He says He’s coming back, you better believe He’s coming back. We will see baby Celeste on that glorious day, but this time sorrow and sighing shall flee away Isaiah 35:10. Amen. 

Thank you all again. You all have been nothing short of a blessing to our family. We appreciate every visit, every text, call, and all the prayers. We love you all, and have a happy Sabbath.