Jesus, Be Near - We will NOT be shaken!

Jesus, You are SO good. In the midst of crushing heartache, You have mighty and good things to come for this Coblentz home. Thank you for who You are and all that You have blessed us with. What satan means for harm, we are claiming for GOOD.

Monday, February 6th. 3 weeks into receiving the happiest news of our lives... “I’m sorry, the gestational sac is now empty.” Miscarriage. YEARS of waiting for miraculous news never once having EVER received a positive pregnancy result until a few weeks prior, treading softly but expectantly for a total of 7.5 weeks. Three weeks of pure joy like we had never known before, now met with a very abrupt end and crushing blow.

Our infertility journey for many, many years was totally silent. A few years ago, we started to break the silence in small ways that would help us process and heal as we have endured the inevitable monthly rotation of grieving cycles. It has been freeing but also “invited” unwelcomed advice and hurtful comments from those who simply just don’t think before speaking. You name it, we’ve heard it. We have come to realize that’s human nature and part of life but has also made us keenly aware of the power that words have, unknowingly by what seems like a great percentage of the population. Some never seem to get it while others go above and beyond to show us they care in ways that leave us feeling blessed and so undeserving. For those close to us who have helped to carry us in the seasons we felt as though we couldn’t walk on our own, we are forever grateful and will never forget even the smallest acts of kindness and compassion.

If you are blessed with the sheer miracle of children, we beg of you to never take them for granted. Those days of parenting that are annoying and challenging? So many couples like us are PRAYING for days like those to be a reality and desperately wish to experience. Sadly, 1 in every 8 couples will experience infertility in some form or another.

Today, we pick up the pieces of this new experience we are wading through and try to figure out where we go from here. We refuse to believe our story is over, and we will cling to hope that our deepest and purest hearts’ desire to be parents will eventually come to pass even if the journey hasn’t looked anything like either of us had originally planned.

We have chosen to publicly proclaim God’s goodness in this way even through the pain and continual crushing blows, that sometimes feel they will never end for us.

If you’re walking through dark times, hang on. God is FAITHFUL. God is GOOD. God….IS.

Lord willing, tomorrow will come, and the next day…...and the next…….and we will get back up again and fight. Some days we’ll fight better than others, but we will NEVER stop fighting. The devil has no place in our lives and we will not let him win even down to the smallest of details.

The nursery that has already been painted will continue to be filled with hope, dreams, more tears, so much love, Jesus, and eventually LIFE.

We love you Baby Coblentz! We can’t wait to meet you someday. Those on this side of Heaven and those Jesus is holding closely for us.

2 Corinthians 4:8 - We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.

Romans 8:37 - No, despite all these things, overwhelming VICTORY is ours through Christ, who loved us.

In JESUS name, we claim that VICTORY! CELEBRATION, LIFE, & JOY.

In loving memory...
Ira (Watchful, Vigilant, Making Bare, Pouring out)
Jude (Praise, Thanks)
Coblentz

Happy Endings

May 20, 2012 - Pond Bank Community Church hosts the 5th annual Motorcycle Sunday. A morning of motorcycle overload, Jesus, music, fellowship, and good food. A great morning was had by all and after a delicious lunch, the motorcyclists were off on their group ride.

Along the way, a camera was found beside the road by one of the riders. He turned it in to my Dad in case one of the other riders had lost it and inquired about it. No one ever did.

My Dad held onto it for awhile and happened to mention it to Chris and I a few months later. The camera was obviously damaged beyond repair and would never function again but the memory card inside seemed unharmed. We brought the camera home and popped the card into our card reader to see if the picture files were damaged or not. Neither of us were prepared for what we would discover next. A beautiful couple. Obviously married. Airport shots. Traveling to another country. Two adorable children. An adoption!! Our hearts sank as we knew that these were not just random pictures but ones of great significance and sentimental value. How would we ever find the owners of the camera?? A few pictures prior to the adoption trip seemed to be local and we tried to make out a specific location but the words were just not quite clear enough. We did multiple google searches and focused on finding that location some how, some way. Alas, we failed to narrow anything down and gave up. Many times over the last few years I would see the "Lost Camera" folder saved on our computer and look through the pictures again, hoping for some inspiration. A few times I considered sharing one of the photos on Facebook, asking everyone and anyone to "share it" in hopes that it would eventually warrant a successful reunion with these dear people. I never followed through thinking surely it was pointless and there was just no possible way for me to ever find these people.

Fast forward to Wednesday, November 4th, 2015. The pictures were burning in my mind and heart as I thought about how badly I would want those pictures back if I were in their shoes. Pictures are everything to me so once again, I clicked through each one hoping and praying for a new revelation as to how to contact this dear family. AwakenHaiti. The gentleman had a shirt on that said AwakenHaiti. I did a quick google search and realized it was a small organization based in Carlisle that specifically deals with rescuing children. I figured it was a huge shot in the dark but I emailed the picture to the contact email address for this organization. I briefly explained that I was looking for the owners of a lost camera and asked if anyone could recognize the people in the photo to help me identify who it belonged to. I knew it would either get me headed in the right direction or they would think I was crazy and I'd never hear back.

7:41 AM - Sent the email feeling slightly crazy.

6:43 PM - A reply from Awaken Haiti. "Wow, yes I know them. I will forward your email on to them!"

9:19 PM - "Dear Jessie, YOU ARE AN ANGEL and GOD has answered prayer!! My name is Robin and the camera that you found was one that we lost three and half years ago......"

As I read these precious words and the rest of this dear woman's email first thing Thursday morning upon waking up, I was in tears and ecstatic! WOW!! What a crazy God moment this was unraveling. I couldn't believe it and I'm pretty sure she couldn't either! :) One of the best and coolest parts was that same day that I reached out and she got the wonderful news...It was her BIRTHDAY!!!! We exchanged several emails back and forth over the next few days and decided on a meeting time for Sunday, November 8th. My family was together celebrating several birthdays at my parent's house. They were coming from about an hour or so away and what a happy reunion it was when they got there! BEAUTIFUL family. What a relief and joy it was to FINALLY hand over the lost camera to this precious family. I was giddy with excitement! :) We exchanged stories of how and when it was lost and how and when it was found. (Just a few hour time window.) In a fluster of getting the two children into the car to go on a family lake outing, the camera was placed on top of their car. It rode safely up there for quite awhile until it eventually fell off along the road and was found shortly after by the motorcyclists.

While this may just seem like a heart warming coincidence to some, to me it could not have come at a more perfect time. The inspiration to just now google "AwakenHaiti" after looking through those pictures SO many times before was totally God inspired. While I wasn't on the receiving end of the lost pictures, I was blessed greatly by affirmation that God does care about all the little details in all of our lives and while the answers we hope and plead for may not arrive when we think they should, He DOES still care and He is always working.

I am so thankful for this happy ending (even if it did take 3.5 years) and for our new found friends! I hope that reading this story is as much of a blessing and encouragement to others as being part of this reunion was to me!

Choosing Joy

To most women, today was a day of much happiness and thankfulness for their children. For me, it has quickly become a dreaded holiday that gets more painful with each passing year. I am blessed and so thankful for my birth mother who has helped shape the woman I am today as well as my second mom who willingly bestowed her only son into my care and loves me as her own. As today approached I was determined to try and enjoy my day to the best of my abilities. This morning as the day was new, I began to thank God for this special day and what it means to many and what it will mean to me someday. The conclusion of my story being a woman here on earth has not been written yet and I refuse to give up hope. Today I had my moments of choking back tears but I also had a supernatural peace that only comes from one place. Thank you, Jesus. Several people made an extra special effort to reach out and encourage me today and I know that many more are praying, lifting our precious request to the throne. Today was a good day and I am blessed, so very blessed. I know that so often I take things for granted that someone else is desperately praying for. May I never forget how truly blessed I am and that God is capable of more than I could ever dream or imagine! Today, I left satan and his lies in the dust and I rested in the arms of my Father. He is so good.