Real Women. Real Stories. Real Bravery

Happy Monday friends & here’s to a fabulous week!! So glad  you are joining us today for our Live Brave series. I am so thankful for today’s contributor & her willingness to share some of her story with us! I have no doubt that her story will encourage many!!

Meet Simone. 

When Candi asked me to write for this weeks Live Brave series I was excited to share a part of my life that I hope will encourage others to Live BRAVE! Not only that, but it was impeccable timing as it is the 1 year anniversary of when I started this Brave journey with the Lord.

Last August 25th I turned 35, a milestone birthday, one in which makes you take a moment to reflect on life, Where have I been? Where am I going? How am I growing? Have I marked off a few items on my bucket list?

My life is wonderful and I wouldn’t change it! I paused when I thought of the one thing that was missing, the one area of my life that I’ve been dreaming of for years, something that God promised me long ago and hasn’t be fulfilled.

I had my first daughter Madison 15 years ago, 1 month shy of my 20th birthday. A few years later my husband James and I decided it was time to add another baby to our family. James and I planned it out and decided to video tape telling Madison the big news. She was beyond excited and it was a moment that I will never forget.

Sadly, shortly there after, we suffered our first miscarriage. My husband wasn’t home at the time so I went to the ER with Madison in tow. I’ll never forget being wheeled around in the hospital bed with Madison by my side. It was devastating but it didn’t stop us from trying again. We tried again and we suffered our 2nd miscarriage. I couldn’t believe it, another miscarriage! I was beside myself! I needed to heal and talk to God so I met with him in worship were I heard him audibly say that he promised me another child.

A few years later to my surprise we were pregnant again and I knew for sure this was the baby God promised. At 13 weeks my water broke and I experienced my 3rd miscarriage. How could this be? God promised me! I knew I heard God but I was so confused and my confidence in knowing God’s plan for my family faded. I thought the promise was going to be loving and knowing a child that I was able to rise for the rest of my life. Perhaps, God fulfilled his promise for our family through our miscarriages and I just needed to move on I justified. But in my heart I knew that wasn’t the truth.

The past three years since my last miscarriage I devoted myself to finding out why my body had caused “spontaneous abortions” as medical jargon calls it. I found out that I have Hashimoto Thyroiditis a medical condition in which your immune system attacks your thyroid. The thyroid gland is part of your endocrine system, which produces hormones that coordinate many of your body’s activities. Thyroid hormone is vital during pregnancy. Slowly and with God’s guidance along the way, I began to heal my body. Mind you, I didn’t start out on this healing journey to get pregnant, I was only looking for answers as to the cause of my miscarriages and how to get healthy.

I had completely closed the door on the possibility of having another child. But something happened on my 35th Birthday that made me start looking at my life and I started to wonder when will God’s promise be fulfilled in my life. After all, my daughter Madison was going into high school the next school year and I had just started my preschool. My husband was graduating from college and we were looking to remodel the house we just bought. If He was going to give us a baby it would have to happen soon, plus I am not getting any younger! I was in a wondering and dreaming phase for two months! The enemy loves if you get stuck in this stage forever; he does want you to move beyond this. Wondering and Pondering doesn’t set you free and move your life forward to what God has in store for you.

I decided to stop wondering and start praying. I reasoned, that if God gave me this promise it is mine and I just need to ask for it. I have heard of people claim God’s promises and it worked for them so I prayed, ” Lord I’m here to claim my promise and I’m going to sit by your feet till you do.” I continued, “Lord, I need to know that you hear me, that you see me, and that your promise is still for me. I need you to encourage me in your word to continue to have the strength to pursue this promise.

The Lord answered,
“I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness; for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name. As soon as I pray you answer me; you encourage me by giving me strength” (psalm 138:2). The God of the Universe answered me and he said, “ my promises are backed by the full authority of my name.”

I prayed for three days and then I found out I was pregnant!

For this child I prayed and the Lord granted the desires of my heart” (1 Samuel 1:27).

When I made an appointment with an Reproductive Endocrinologist I was already 7 weeks along. The Reproductive Endocrinologist wanted me to take medicine and injections in my abdomen to help me keep the baby but I trusted that God would keep baby alive and healthy. Our baby girls due date was set for June 1st, 2015. We prayed that God would help us find the perfect girls name and the name Emma was chosen which means whole and complete. She would definitely make our family complete!

Emma James Rogers was born on June 6, 2015 at 3:46am weighting 6 lbs 2oz. We waited 14 years 10 months and 27 days for God to fulfill his promise and it was worth the wait.

I learned that Living Brave is asking for Big Things! Pray for the impossible! Pray for Promises! God hears you, He see’s you, He knows you, and He wants to be known by you! Sometimes He makes you wait for his perfect timing but it’s always worth it.

Simone Rogers was born in Romania and immigrated to America when she was an infant and grew up in California’s Central Valley. She attended Northern Arizona University and received a B.A in Early Childhood Education. She is the owner of Nesting Place Preschool a Reggio Inspired Preschool focusing on art as a way to express learning. She is married to her High School sweetheart, James Rogers, for 16 years and a mother of two beautiful daughters, Madison who is 15 years old and a freshman in High School, and Emma who is 2 months old. She lives on an Urban Farm in the historic Lehi Neighborhood of Mesa, AZ with her two goats, Lemon & Heidi, and her many chickens. Simone is a cultivator of all domestic arts and especially enjoys cooking and shows her love by serving others. When she is not tending to her business or family you can find her collecting eggs, picking tomatoes or sitting under her grapefruit tree, drinking tea and dreaming up new recipes.