People say, you never know when or where you might meet the love of your life. For Josh and April, their love story began in 2005 on a train platform. While waiting for their train to arrive, they struck up a conversation. With both of them having a sense of humor and a lot in common, it didn’t take long for them to hit it off. They developed a friendship, which quickly evolved into a romantic relationship. After dating for three years, they got married in October of 2008.
During the first few years of their marriage, they decided to hold off on having children. Josh already had a daughter named Kayla from a previous relationship; plus they were still young, so they weren’t in a rush to have a child together. After their fifth wedding anniversary, Josh and April decided they wanted to have another child. They tried for over a year, but nothing happened. They eventually made the decision to go to a fertility doctor to find out why it was so difficult for them to conceive. Both of them were healthy and still young, so it really didn’t make sense to them. After several doctor’s visits, April was still unable to get pregnant, and no one could tell her why. The constant bad news from the doctors became increasingly difficult to handle as time progressed. However, this challenge brought Josh and April closer together in their marriage. It also brought them to their knees before the Lord.
They began to seek God for answers. They wondered if they waited too long to try to have kids and eventually began to question if having children was even right for them. After remaining prayerful, they decided to seek additional assistance by undergoing the process of artificial insemination, which had a 5-7% chance of success. Both attempts failed, and after the second try, they felt like they had wasted their time and money. Josh and April wanted this baby so bad, but it seemed like having a child was so far out of their reach. It got to the point where all they could think about was the baby, and the thought of not having one seemed to follow them around throughout the day like a dark cloud over their lives. They continued to do their research and began to explore the possibility of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). They learned that the IVF process is costly and unpleasant; however, by faith they decided to move forward with it.
Leading up to the IVF procedure, April remained positive. Although she was required to take 5-6 medications daily and continuously had to inject herself with shots, she never complained. Josh stood by her side the entire time, but there were moments where he felt helpless. Outside of offering his wife emotional support, he knew she had to carry a majority of this burden on her shoulders. At that moment, he learned how strong his beautiful wife was, and his love for her grew more. Josh and April also recognized that they could go through every fertilization procedure that the world offered, but if it weren’t in God’s will for them to conceive, it wouldn’t happen. They finally got to the point in their prayer time, where they surrendered the entire situation to the Lord. They made a decision to trust whatever God had planned for their life, and if they had a child, it would undoubtedly be a gift from God.
In December of 2017, they had the IVF procedure. It was successful, and nine months later, their daughter Summer Carolynn entered into the world. This beautiful, healthy baby served as a reminder to Josh and April of God’s faithfulness in their lives. They do not take for granted that God blessed them with a child, and they would not change any of the moments along their journey that led up to her birth. This test drew them closer to God, and strengthen their marriage like never before. They both learned that on this journey called life, you will go through some trials that will bring you to your knees; but when you look up to God in prayer, He is right there with you and will help you to make it to the other side of the mountain that stood between you and your breakthrough. If you were encouraged by this week's Faith Friday Feature, be sure to subscribe to receive other testimonies of faith once a week. New to Faith on the Journey? Check out other Faith Friday testimonies here.
