Waiting on God

Waiting on God

  • July 3, 2020

Have you been praying about a situation in your life and waiting for a breakthrough? May this story about God’s beautiful timing encourage you as you prepare for the fast and continue to seek God. 

 

Cyril and I got married in 2015. Since then, we had been looking forward to adding a little version of him and me into our family. We prayed and continued to wait, believing it wouldn’t take that long. But when months had passed and nothing had happened, we began to wonder if something was wrong.

In that same year, we went to a doctor and found out that I had an endometrial cyst. At that time, it was still small in size. The doctor told us that it was nothing to worry about, and we could keep trying. We tried and waited again—for weeks, months, and years. Until it slowly took a toll on us and drained our hope.

Though we never lost faith, frustration kept building up each month. We thought that maybe, God had other plans for us. We began to talk to different couples who were also waiting for a child and sought their advice. Most of them were waiting longer than we did, and they somehow helped us see things in a different light. They encouraged us to continue seeking God.

We started to regularly participate in our time of prayer and fasting with the same faith goal every year. And though each year was difficult and full of tears, God’s grace was there to sustain us.

Last year, we finally had the courage to go back to the hospital and seek medical advice again. On that same day, we found out from a specialist that my endometrial cyst had grown to eight centimeters. The size was worrisome, and it couldn’t be ignored anymore. The doctor suggested that I undergo surgery as soon as possible.

Deciding to go through surgery was difficult for me. It uncovered fears I didn’t know existed. It was a battle that I had to surrender to God. On the day of the surgery, I couldn’t think of anything else but my relationship with Him. It made me realize that He is far more important than all the things I had been wanting or praying for in my life.

After the surgery, God slowly unfolded so many things to us. He also overwhelmed us, not just with His grace but even with His provision. A lot of people came unexpectedly to bless and help us financially. We left the hospital without a tinge of worry.

During my follow up consultation, the doctor put me on medication and told me that if conceiving would still be a challenge after a few months, I could go to an infertility clinic specializing in assisted reproductive technology. Knowing that we couldn’t afford the said process, we prayed to God and trusted that His will for us—whatever it might be—would still be the best.

While waiting, God continued to deal not just with my heart but even with my husband’s. I didn’t realize that his experience of growing up in a fatherless home made him doubt if he was capable of being a father and raising a child. Though our journey of waiting wasn’t easy, I was grateful because, through it, God revealed so many things to us and made our relationship stronger and centered on Him alone.

With everything that we had gone through, I knew that the possibility of conceiving without medical intervention was slim. That’s why even when my monthly period got delayed for a few days last April, I was a bit hesitant to do a pregnancy test. Though a part of me was hopeful and full of faith, a big part was also afraid that the results would end up being similar to the ones we previously had. As I was waiting for the lines to appear on the pregnancy test kit, I slowly welled up in tears. I didn’t see a single line this time—I saw two clear lines, which meant that I’m pregnant.

I hurriedly showed the results to my husband, and we ended up crying with so much awe and gratitude. That time, all I could hear was God saying to me that He was writing a different story for us—a story that was far more beautiful than what we had in mind.

Now, I am 14 weeks pregnant, and everything is right on track based on my latest ultrasound. As we wait for our little miracle, my husband and I are continuously holding on to God and His grace. We know that we can trust Him fully as He weaves every tiny part of His precious gift to our marriage.

But I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hands . . . Psalm 31:14,15

 

Tiffany Xyra Valdez is leading a singles Victory group in Victory Greenhills. Like Tiffany, her husband Cyril, is also helping young men know God more by going through ONE 2 ONE with them.

More than Two Decades of God’s Faithfulness

More than Two Decades of God’s Faithfulness

  • July 5, 2019

Paolo and Gladys know that God’s faithfulness does not and will not stop in their marriage. When Gladys finally conceived after almost 10 years of waiting, she and Paolo held on to God and believed that He would remain faithful despite the impossibilities they faced. Know more about God and His faithfulness through their story.

 

Paolo and Gladys were already followers of Christ even before they met. They had known each other since college and became part of the same barkada. In 1996, both of them faced major crossroads in their lives that—unknown to them—would make their paths meet.

While Gladys was praying to God for clarity and direction about her desire to pursue missions, God promised her that He would not send her alone—she would go to the nations with her future family. Thinking it was unlikely to happen at that time because she was not in a relationship, Gladys sought God in prayer and believed that if and when it happened, she would be with a man who also had a heart for missions.

Meanwhile, Paolo—who had heard a challenge to go to missions in a retreat that year—was contemplating a career change. Like Gladys, he had a heart for the nations and was seriously considering going to the mission field. When asked to take work responsibilities in Southeast Asia, Paolo did not think twice and immediately accepted the role. He knew it would open doors for him to do missions.

After months of not seeing each other, Paolo and Gladys were reconnected and learned about their respective plans of going to the nations. For them, it was like hearing a revelation from God—an answer to a long-ago prayer. It turned out that Gladys was not the only one who was believing God for a partner in the mission field; Paolo was, too.

Allowing God to let His plans unfold in His time, Paolo and Gladys parted ways to do what God had called them to do first. Gladys left for Thailand to accompany a friend on a short-term mission trip, while Paolo traveled to different countries as part of his job. After they had returned, Paolo pursued Gladys and eventually won her heart. A few months into their relationship, they sought God in prayer to know His mission for them as a couple. And when it became clear, they exchanged vows in February of the following year.

Seeing how God had carefully crafted their love story, Paolo and Gladys were certain that no matter what difficulties they faced, God would lead the way and see them through. Believing for a child was one of them. Every year, amid different trials, they would patiently wait for God’s promise to be fulfilled. And year after year, their faith was tested.

Until it finally came.

After almost 10 years of waiting, Gladys became pregnant. It was her first pregnancy at 40, and it was highly sensitive. While carrying their unborn child, Gladys battled with hyperthyroidism, hypertension, and seven myomas. She was bedridden for six months—and it took a toll on their baby. As a complication of hypertension, their unborn child was diagnosed with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), a condition in which an unborn child is smaller than it should be. Because the baby was not growing at a normal rate inside the womb, the doctors told Gladys that it was at risk of certain health problems, and it might stop growing at some point.

Instead of losing faith, Paolo and Gladys sought God even more and devoted time to pray for their baby. Though there were many times that they had both cried in pain because of everything, they still repeatedly went back to God in prayer and surrendered everything to Him.

On August 23, 2007, Gladys finally gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Sofia Therese or Pia. She had a Cesarean delivery at 36 weeks and six days. It was a full-term pregnancy! It was also a painless delivery all throughout.

Now, Pia is 11 years old, and she’s been a blessing to Paolo and Gladys. But more than anything, her parents know that she belongs not to them, but to the Lord. Last May 25th, Pia attended Victory Weekend for preteens, and although Paolo and Gladys had already attended Victory Weekend nine years before, they decided to be baptized in faith as a family—with Pia.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23

Paolo and Gladys’ family is a testimony of God’s faithfulness. He has been faithful to them for more than two decades; they know that He will remain faithful in the years to come. He will continue to be the author of their life stories as they await their next mission as a family.

 

Paolo, Gladys, and Sophia are part of Victory Fort. Paolo has a small consulting business, while Gladys runs a school in Caloocan.