By Carlie Kercheval
God's Brave Women - Carlie's Story
I’ll never forget the day I heard these words, “Your body is having a spontaneous abortion.”
At the time I was 8 months pregnant with our first child, my sweet Hannah Naomi. As I was trying to comprehend what my OBGYN had said, the room began to spin. I recall how my body felt sitting on that cold exam table, nothing but frigid air moving in and out of my chest. It was as if time was standing still. I was unable to breathe, move my body, or say a word. I remember desperately trying to speak but the words couldn’t find their way from my brain to my lips.
When my mind caught up with those seven words, a fight welled up within me that I had never felt before. A fight so strong that I yelled out, “My baby girl is going to live and not die!”
The doctor stood there stunned as I refused her diagnosis and told her I was leaving. I knew deep down inside of me that I had to stand strong and firm on the Word of God, and trust Him with this impossible situation.
" I knew deep down inside of me that I had to stand strong and firm on the Word of God, and trust Him with this impossible situation."
I remember calling my dear husband, Michael, and asking him to pick me up because I was going home to declare the Word of life over our baby girl. I wept and waited for him on the corner of a busy street as the verse in Romans 8:11 kept welling up on the inside of me:
“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.”
After rolling that verse over and over in my mind, it hit me: God was asking me to trust Him with my pain, allowing Him to replace it with His promise of life.
He was calling me to rise up and stand strong in the face of the enemy’s lies, no matter how it looked to anyone else.
He was asking me to be brave for Him, and be brave for our baby girl inside my womb. This was a call to radical obedience that I refused to ignore. And I am so glad I did.
"God was asking me to trust Him with my pain, allowing Him to replace it with His promise of life. He was calling me to rise up and stand strong in the face of the enemy’s lies, no matter how it looked to anyone else. He was asking me to be brave for Him, and be brave for our baby girl inside my womb."
Today I want to share a few vital lessons I learned during this life-changing trial that have had a lasting impact on my faith more than two decades later.
1. Don’t be afraid to stand up for what you believe in.
I learned that when God asks me to trust Him, there are no prerequisites to that trust. I need to boldly declare what I hear Him saying and stand firm upon the truth of His Word, no matter what.
"When God asks me to trust Him, there are no prerequisites to that trust."
Although my doctor didn’t understand my reaction in the exam room that day, I understood that my obedience was crucial at that moment. In order for God to work on my behalf, I had to stand strong in my belief that the promise of Hannah’s life was coming to pass regardless of what the diagnosis was.
2. Pain is an agent of healing.
More than anything that day, the Lord solidified that in order to heal from anything, we must first allow ourselves to feel the pain it has caused. This isn’t an easy thing to do. However, I realized in order to trust God to heal my baby and the trauma of being told she was going to die, I had to allow myself to feel it. Once I granted God access to my pain-filled heart, I knew the healing process was already beginning.
"In order to heal from anything, we must first allow ourselves to feel the pain it has caused."
3. We must choose to be brave in the face of the enemy’s lies.
Being brave is no easy feat, especially when it involves life or death. And while my story today involved the life or death of my baby girl, this is true of every decision we face. We have the ability to trust God every day with so many things. We must do our best each day to choose to trust God in every situation, no matter how convincing the enemy’s lies are. We need to tune in to the voice of the Holy Spirit instead of the voice of the media or what the culture around us is saying.
"We must do our best each day to choose to trust God in every situation, no matter how convincing the enemy’s lies are. We need to tune in to the voice of the Holy Spirit instead of the voice of the media or what the culture around us is saying."
I am happy to report that God delivered on his promise to us. Our precious Hannah was born two short weeks after that ordeal on April 18, 2000. She has been a gift of life and light to our family and all those who are blessed to cross her path. She is anointed with the gifts of healing, wisdom, storytelling, and deep empathy for God’s people. This is why the enemy tried to take her out while inside of my womb. This is why my radical obedience was necessary.
Maybe today you are amidst a difficult trial and God is asking you to trust Him. And while every trial looks different, one thing remains the same: We need to learn to trust Him with it all.
I want to encourage you, dear sister, to allow your Heavenly Father to take your pain so you can be made whole. I want you to learn to trust Him regardless of the outcome, knowing that it will all work together for His glory in the end. And I want you to know that I will be there right alongside you doing my best to be brave and trust our Father, too.
Brave Woman Manifesto
Make sure to check back next week as another courageous Sister shares her story.
And by the way...
You are Brave!
No matter what you are facing, God has made you in His image, which means He equips you with His courage, strength, and power. I would love to connect more and give you a FREE gift - the BRAVE WOMAN MANIFESTO: Five Things to Tell Yourself When Life Gets Hard. Click HERE to sign up for my monthly newsletter and you’ll receive the FREE Manifesto, as well as recent blog posts, updated resources and personal details delivered only to my empowered email tribe.
AS A BONUS… Subscribers will also be the first to receive news regarding the BRAVE WOMEN BIBLE STUDY! SIGN UP for more info on the study’s release and availability.
About Carlie
Carlie Kercheval is a happily married momma of three. She is an author, biblical counselor, certified life coach, Bible teacher, and conference hostess. Carlie and her husband Michael co-founded Marriage Legacy University™ and have helped tens of thousands of couples around the world grow closer to God and each other. She and her husband co-authored the best-selling books: Consecrated Conversations: 30 Devotions for Couples and Learning to Speak Life: Fruit of the Spirit Family Bible Study Guide.
When she is not busy enjoying her family and the great outdoors, you can typically find her cozied up somewhere under a blanket with a good book. Connect with Carlie on their website christianmarriageadventure.com, Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest.