How it all began....

It seems like lately I have been hearing more stories than ever of friends who are dealing with infertility. Despite the challenges they have faced, one by one, each of them has overcome the odds and eventually God has blessed them with a healthy bioligical child. It has been amazing to see them keep their faith and watch their struggles end in such a beautiful way.

And then there's my friend Kimberly. Kimberly is a cancer survivor. She had a rare form of cancer when she was a baby that resulted in the amputation of her leg when she was two years old. Now she is 28 and happily married. She desperately longs to be a mother, but due to the chemotherapy treatments she received when she was younger, she can no longer produce eggs and her uterus is so damaged that her body cannot support a pregnancy. After many doctors and treatments, she was told that they had done all they could but were fairly certain that she will never be able to have biological children.

Kimberly stopped by to visit me after her last visit to the fertility specialist and relayed the doctor's prognosis. When I heard the news, my heart broke for her. I am 27 years old, and while my husband and I are not yet ready for kids, I cannot imagine the disappointment of hearing this kind of news. They had also been pursing adoption as a possibility but they kept running into dead ends and the process appeared to be never ending. Kimberly had become extremely discouraged and the thought of having a child of her own seemed so out of reach. I felt like there had to be something I could do so I prayed about it and God made it very clear to me.

After two days of weighing my decision, I called Kimberly and asked if she would consider allowing me to carry a child for her and her husband as a surrogate mother. This way she could go through the ultrasounds, the birth, and the development of their baby with me. I just kind of blurted it out and told her not to answer until she had time to consider it fully and talk with her husband. I hung up having no idea whether I had offended her, made her uncomfortable, or left her thinking I was completely out of my mind. I got a call back an hour later, and I cannot begin to describe the amount of gratitude, excitement, and relief they conveyed to me through their response. I felt so incredibly blessed to have an opportunity to be a part of something so much bigger than I am.

And so the story begins...