Written by my husband…

Here is an email my husband wrote, about the new baby we’re expecting later this year. I thought it was sweet and wanted to share it with you… ~Anne

To all our Family and Friends,

Sometimes in our lives God sends a profound reminder of who He is and what He is to us. Often this is meant as a blessing of encouragement, but sometimes it can be for faith-building in the lives of His children. A test, so to speak, to see where we are in our walk of salvation and faith.

God has chosen to to bring a reminder to our family that is both a blessing and a faith-builder. When we (Anne and I) look at this experience, our worldly built, self-centered views bring us to fear and question God’s decisions. But, if we look from a purely scriptural view, God is giving us a most profound blessing that He has promised to those who are able to handle by faith His promises. Now, I am not trying to be proud at this moment, but to announce that God has chosen Anne and me to bring another child, a child of His righteous blessing into this world.

When we had Kacey almost 2 years ago, Anne struggled with the pregnancy greatly, and many in the medical profession feared for her life because of the effects of her Addison’s (adrenal) and Hashimoto’s (thyroid) disorders that she deals with daily. When she first came down with the Addison’s almost 3 years ago, we were told that we wouldn’t have any more children because the hormones in Anne’s body were permanently too disruptive to all for pregnancy. One month after hearing this God began growing Kacey in Anne’s womb. We knew it was a blessing because we had no plans to have anymore kids and didn’t think we could. God chose otherwise for us. 9 months later and probably 5 weeks premature, Anne gave birth to a healthy, 7.5 pound joy named Kacey Brianne.

The pregnancy, however, and the proceeding few months, were very difficult on Anne physically, and she had several minor crashes, major swelling, infections, etc. WE CHOSE at that time to say, “No more.” God had blessed us with 6 beautiful children, and WE DECIDED “not to test fate” by having any more. Each of the other 5 children before Kacey we had planned to have, and God has never made it difficult for us to have children (unlike so many in our country today). That is amazing when we look at so many of our friends who struggle with trying to get pregnant. Anne has never miscarried either, also an amazing blessing. All our children have been born healthy also. All that being said, we still felt Anne’s health and possibly her life were to in jeopardy to have any more children. So we chose to stop. I didn’t get “fixed” because that would be extremely dangerous to MY life expectancy (if you have ever researched the problems with that, combined with my family history). I was willing but my wife desires to have a husband/father around instead of making sure we don’t have children. Since then we have been “careful” and relied on God to do the rest.

Now God has chosen to allow Anne to get pregnant again  !!!! Some may say “Well, why didn’t you get fixed?” I say God could easily have not made me able to have kids. But His will is to allow Anne and me to conceive with ease, and without even trying. Now what are we going to do? The world would, like a vasectomy, take the matter into our own hands and have an abortion to protect Anne. But I ask, “Where is the faith in God’s will and provision in that?” No, we have chosen instead to be encouraged by this gracious gift from our wonderful Savior and see how He is going to provide in this.

I look at Susanna Wesley, who had so many children and so many struggles raising them, heartaches with deaths of children, etc. Then I see how God blessed her with children who set Europe and America on their ear spiritually and lit a fire in both those places to serve God. God has given Anne and me the privilege to raise our 7 children for His glory. Now I am not saying that my kids are the next John and Charles Wesley, but God has a plan for each of them. In the process, He has forced Anne and me to look completely to Him in order to not allow worry and fear to become part of our daily lives. That isn’t easy, as many of you know. But what an opportunity He has given to us to grow our faith and our kids to see how God is going to work in the next 8+ months.

Y’all (that’s Texan for “all of you”) can help us by praying that God will allow Anne to have a beautiful pregnancy and birth and not allow her Addison’s and Hashimoto’s to affect her. However, she has already begun to swell and have problems with dehydration, headaches, and body pain. Her due date is December 24th so we have a great deal of time left in this pregnancy. Here’s where our faith meets the pavement. Can we trust God even if Anne gets sick, and know that this is still His will and He has a plan in doing this? Please pray for us in that and that this can be used as a way to reach into people’s lives in our community, this country and around the world. (We are looking at getting into a study of how pregnancy affects women with Addison’s in Australia as there is so little info on how to help Addison’s women who get pregnant.) So little information is out there on how to care for pregnant women with Addison’s that it is touch and go and like a giant experiment. We need your prayers for wisdom in this area also.

We have never been a couple who agrees with the whole quiver-full philosophy, where you just have children because you can. The second part of that verse says that children are a blessing as arrows who hit the target (Psalm 127:3-4). That target is a biblical life willing to follow God’s Word. Anne and I desire to bring our children up in the admonition of God’s Word. The Bible also says to whom much is given, much is required (Luke 12:48), so we need all your prayers to parent according to God’s Word with 7 children!!!!

We thank you ahead of time for your prayers and the many of you who have already had an impact on our family’s lives. Your friendship and love along with God makes all this possible.

~Kraig

UPDATE: How God Healed Anne of Addison’s Disease, When the Doctors Said It Was Incurable