Julie & Jane's Shared Journey

I absolutely loved every member of our TN mission team. Many of them were here last year and this year we had 2 new guys. Johnny and I hit it off from the first second, mostly because he just got right in my business and believe me, he never let up. But he wasn't rude or obnoxious about it. I love that.

But I made a special connection this year with Jane. Dear, sweet, quiet but feisty Jane. It was in a simple off-handed comment that I learned she struggled for 10 years with infertility. This opened the door for the two of us to talk about many things that only the childless-but-desperately-wanting-a-child can understand. It was one of those surreal times when you think to yourself "aha, I am not alone. I am not a freak. Someone else understands." The happy ending for Jane is that eventually she and her husband did have a child, a son who just graduated from high school this past spring.

On the Thursday they were here I was holding the child of someone in the church. It didn't seem like much to me because I always do it. I love babies. I love kids. Jane walked up to me and said, "I just want you to know you are so special and gracious with children. I'm not sure I could do that." My eyes welled with tears.

That Friday before VBS we sat together in the very first row of the church and had a really candid conversation. I so appreciated what she had said the day before. I got to share with her the truth--frequently I'm not so gracious on the inside but because of the ministry position Steve and I are in, I have no other choice. I told her about the day in April as I decorated my home and made food for a baby shower. I dropped some of the confetti as I spread it on the table. It was super cute too...baby bottles, pacifiers, buggies, the works. I got down to pick it up and found myself sitting on the floor in the midst of it, tears pouring down my cheeks. I was completely unable to stop them so I just gave in and sat there weeping. It caught me so off guard I didn't know what else to do. That day there was no facade, just me and my raw emotions on the floor of my dining room.

Jane understood. Her eyes brimmed with tears (as did mine) and her nod of affirmation did wonders for this weary heart. God sent Jane to me again this year to minister to my soul as only someone with the same experience could do. I never dreamed until that day that I was ministering to her as well. I needed to know I'm not alone and even though her outcome is different than mine, our souls are knit together through this life experience.

That, my friends, is what it's all about--living transparent lives with each other so we can encourage and minister to those in the same circumstance.