Worth Waiting For

  Our youngest son and his wife will be married nine years in July. They went through years of infertility tests and treatments without success. There was no hope they would be able to have a child, so they began looking into adoption. At an informative meeting on adoption, they heard about embryo adoption and felt the Lord was leading them to take this route to have a family. They went into it knowing the national success rate is 40% but claimed the verse, "For nothing shall be impossible with God."

  If you never heard of embryo adoption, this is how it works. When couples use IVF (in vitro fertilization) to have a child, more embryos are created than they will use. As the use of IVF grows, the number of embryos in storage also grows. An estimated 600,000 frozen embryos (most of which will most likely be destroyed) are now in storage across the United States.

  Since we believe life begins at conception, this creates a moral problem of what to do with the frozen embryos. One option is to donate the leftover frozen embryos to another couple. This is an alternative way for an infertile couple to adopt a family. 

  After the donors release their embryos to the adoptive parents, an embryo is thawed and implanted in the womb of the adoptive mother. She carries and gives birth to the child, allowing the adoptive parents to not only have a child but also experience pregnancy and childbirth. A embryo that would have been destroyed (technically aborted) is given a chance to live. 

  The process for embryo adoption is the same as any other adoption with a home study and all the legal work needed to finalized the adoption before the embryo is implanted in the mother's womb. When the child is born their surname is on the child's birth certificate. 

  It took our son and his wife 16 months to complete all the necessary legal and medical work before the embryo could be thawed and implanted. We were praying earnestly the entire time but only God could give life to that embryo. Would He do it?

  One day last summer when I was praying about it, I thought of what my brother said about asking God for something big. He is the Creator of the universe and can do greater things than we can imagine and yet we just ask Him for little everyday things. Right there I told God I am asking Him for something big that only He can do. I asked Him to give life to the first embryo that was implanted. The doctors said it was a 40% chance that would happen, but nothing is impossible with God. He has given barren women children before and even made a virgin gave birth. He could give life to the first embryo that was thawed if He willed.

  I kept waiting and praying for six more months until the day the embryo was implanted. Then we waited some more to see if it was successful. The first pregnancy test was positive! I was overwhelmed and melted into tears when we got the news. It is easy to say we believe God answers prayer but harder to really believe when we have a situation where He is the only one who can do anything about it. There IS a God who cares about us, hears, and answers our prayers.

  The pregnancy is going well and the baby is developing normally. There is a strong heartbeat and I believe the God who gave life to this embryo will finish what He began and give them a live healthy baby in early October. Perhaps the whole purpose of their infertility was to bring this particular child to life. It is an unconventional way to have a family but nothing is impossible for God.

  It was a long 16 months and much hard work, but today these expectant parents are very happy and sharing their joy with the public. They would tell you it was worth all the effort and worth waiting for.