A Year of Restoration

The other day I stood in my kitchen literally in tears.  It wasn't because I was upset.  Quite the contrary, I have been utterly in awe of what God has done this year... in my life, in my marriage, in my family.

We recently attended our church's staff Christmas party.  It's always tons of fun and something that we look forward to each year.  However, this year's party also brought with it a deep realization of God's kindness to me.  You see, last year's party happened to fall on the weekend that I would have been due to have our baby that we lost.  We went to the party, but I have to say that I was miserable the whole time.  We didn't stay long because I was on the verge of tears the whole night.  It had been months since I had miscarried our baby but I was still in so much pain.  I would go on to find out I was pregnant a couple weeks later while in the hospital for some strange stomach/throat pain (Again we were overjoyed!) but I miscarried again a couple days later while celebrating Christmas with my family in Austin.

All that to say, between the brokenness from miscarriages and health issues and other pain from strained relationships, we ended last year thanking the Lord for his goodness despite our circumstances but begging him to bring healing and restoration in our lives in the coming year.

And wow! This year we've seen the Lord...

-Direct us to a holistic doctor that pinpointed the cause of several of my long-term health issues that baffled all other doctors and hospitals.

- Restore a friendship that is very dear to us

- Bring closure and healing with our church from past things

- Bless us with our precious little boy, Ethan Brenton Miller


I am overwhelmed with thankfulness for all that God has done this year.  He knew our pain and saw our brokenness and brought us the healing that we so needed.  I am in awe of his goodness to me!

I do want to say that Stephen and I very much wanted to have another child, but even if the Lord had not seen fit to give us another baby biologically, his faithfulness would not have been any less.  We've experienced the joys of both having a baby biologically and the joys of having children through adoption and though the methods look different on the outside, the blessing is the same.  In fact, we hope to one day adopt again when the time is right. Surely there is room in our big crazy family for one more, right? :)

If there is anything that I can share from all of this, it is that God is SO good! Whether in those seasons of difficulty or in the times of restoration, HE IS GOOD!