I Couldn’t Get Pregnant So I Prayed for One More Baby
The promise I made to God
My three boys are playing in the family room. My little guy is 5 years old and my other boys are 8 and 10. All of a sudden, there’s a ruckus. I’m not sure what precedes it but my youngest storms out of the room.
He enters our kitchen and pivots toward his brothers.
He’s obviously feeling powerless.
“Oh yeh,” he says with great indignance. “Well Mom didn’t ask God for the two of you.”
His brothers and I burst out laughing.
The bedtime story I often tell my baby hasn’t quite turned out the way I thought it would. He’s now weaponized it against his older brothers. My other sweet boys find good-hearted humor in it.
They’re wise enough to find it funny because they know the story.
At night, as I would tuck my little guy into bed I would tell him how I wanted lots of kids. But I couldn’t seem to have any more. I prayed and I prayed and I still couldn’t have another baby.
One day I made a promise to God, “If you just let me have one more baby I will never complain that I can’t have anymore. I will be so grateful. And then God answered my prayer. He sent me you.”
I kept my promise to God.
I did try to have a fourth baby.
I still couldn’t get pregnant again.
I went to my doctor and had a conversation with her. She told me we should run some tests. She sent me home with a container and instructions so that my husband could get tested.
I’ll never forget the look on my husband’s face when I told him what she said.
Nor what he did when I handed him that brown bag.
“Yeh,” says my husband. “Not going to happen.”
We had the blessing of three beautiful boys.
I grew up loving everything about big families. I love being the youngest of a big Irish brood. I loved being surrounded by all of my siblings and the energy and love that pulsated throughout our home.
The noise, the laughter, the commotion, and even the arguments.
It was all wondrous to me.
But when my husband refused to get tested, I knew I had to accept it.
At that moment, I knew I needed to surrender.
If I couldn’t get pregnant again, I would never complain.
I had made a promise to God and he had answered my prayer.
