Made in Tanzania

In February 2009, we went on a safari! My uncle and aunt generously gave us this top notch trip to Tanzania, and we had a fantastic time. Oh we lived it up! It was glorious. J We flew first class (amazing!! First time ever…), we stayed in ridiculously posh accommodations (so crazy!! Definitely not used to it…), and we saw way way way more zebra than we ever knew existed. Along with leopards and cheetahs and lions and wildebeest and deer and all the animals you see in the Lion King. We had so much fun on our safari—we really did. Oh and did I mention that it wasn't just a private safari, it also included hang out time and photo tips with a National Geographic photographer? Oh yes, it did.

Exclusive never-before-seen footage from our trip to Tanzania, put together by my husband. =) See his blog here.

So as I mentioned a few posts ago, we stopped using birth control in June of 2008 because we felt personally convicted to do so. This is not something I would recommend to others unless you feel God leading you in this way. For us, however, it was our act of obedience and faith.

Little did we know that this trip would change our lives forever. Because we went there just two of us—and came back three.

"Were You Trying?"

You know, it’s amazing how social expectations change when you are pregnant. Questions from mere acquaintances pry into extremely private matters. Such as the popular question, “Were you trying?”

This question arises from the assumption that people are either trying to get pregnant or trying not to get pregnant. And it reflects a mentality that each pregnancy is either intended or accidental.

Our answer to this question was, “No.

But we weren’t not trying, either."

Which threw people off.

Read on.

Birth control. When we first got married, I was using the YAZ birth control pill. It was the new pill on the market and very popular (apparently). Just take it at the same time every day and you basically eliminate your chance of getting pregnant. Things I liked about it: shorter, lighter, more predictable periods. Things I disliked about it: accompanied weight gain, susceptibility to sickness, moodiness.

Nonetheless, I took the pill diligently for about the first few months. Then I started sensing God asking me to come off the pill and trust Him regarding my fertility. Trust that He could keep me from getting pregnant. I also began to hear Him say that He wanted to give us a child.

Well, frankly, I did not want a child. Not yet, anyways. But I was challenged by the Spirit to really truly trust God. This was hard for me, and to be honest, at first I did not trust or obey. Then one night I got sick and threw up shortly after taking the pill. I felt convicted and knew that God was asking me to stop taking birth control. My husband felt the same conviction.

So we stopped. That was in June 2008. And God was faithful. Sure enough, He is capable both to open the womb and to keep it shut.

All that to say, we weren’t trying. But also, we weren’t not trying.

Side note: YAZ birth control is now in the midst of several lawsuits for causing serious and life-threatening complications in women taking the pill. See more here.