I started really thinking about what my life would be like if I didn't have my beautiful girls. I don't really know where I'd be, but I don't think I'd be in the right place.
I was really starting to become a luke-warm Christian, sliding backwards and allowing other things in my life to take precedence over God. I never stopped believing and still talked with God, very aware that He wass real and very aware of my need for him. But, I wasn't living as I should. I wasn't loving people the way I should. I wasn't talking the way I should. I wasn't devoting time to God the way I should. I know that going to church on Sunday doesn't save a person, but it is an important aspect of being a believer. I found other things to do on Sundays - sleeping, mountain biking, nothing!
After the girls came I really wished I had a church family to support us in prayer. We were lucky to have friends and family who prayed for us and put us on their prayer chains. But, I still craved having a church family to go to for support.
Even after the girls came home and we witnessed the two miracles God performed in our lives, we found excuses to not go to church. At first they were real excuses - the doctor's advised us strongly against taking our girls' into public places because of their compromised immune systems and risk for getting RSV (deadly to extreme preemies). But, even after that we just declared it too hard to find a home church and we could not fully agree on what we were looking for.
Luckily, because of my girls and the beliefs Nate and I had about the importance of raising our children to know their savior, we made it a priority when they were about 1 1/2 to find a church for them. We started going to one with a friend, but it just never felt right. We weren't sure it it was the right place for our girls and we weren't being nourished the way we needed to be to raise our girls to know Christ.
One Sunday morning as we were getting ready to go to the church we weren't sure about, God spoke strongly to me and told me to try Hope Chapel. I was friends with the pastor on Facebook, so I messaged him and asked if they had a good kids ministry. He wrote me back that same morning telling me they did have a great kids ministry. We were able to make it on time to attend the new church. Had he not wrote me back that same morning, I'm not sure we would have gone that day.
After the first Sunday, we knew this was where God wanted us. Since that Sunday, we have become excited about God again and we are growing. My girls are loved at Hope Chapel and people are excited to see them. I know we have support from this church to raise our girls in the ways of God. I also know that Nate and I will be supported when those times of need come again. This is the church family I wish I had when the girls were in the hospital. But, because of our girls we found this new family.
I don't know where Nate and I would be in our walks with Christ had the girls never been born or had God not saved their lives. I don't know that we would have faithfully looked for a church and in turn be where we are to day in our walks with him. God used what happened with Keira and Kyla to save us from losing our way. That is huge! It's amazing how God works!
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