There are times in life when you face something and the pain is so severe it’s hard to speak about it. A season where you find yourself suffering in silence. But then that moment comes when the Lord tells you, “Now is the time to share.”
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV).
As a church body, as a family in Christ, we come together and we surround one another with the love of Jesus Christ, upholding each other in prayer. We are called to intercede until we see the fruition of our prayers or we hear God say, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV).
And today we are rallying around Micah and Tiffany Henson in prayer.
Micah and Tiffany have been married for eight years. Six years ago they wanted to get pregnant and have a family. However, their dream took a hit when they came out of a doctor’s appointment with the doctor’s harsh words ringing in their ear. Tiffany was diagnosed with ovarian failure and the doctor shared that they only had a one-percent chance of getting pregnant. However, in their heart they knew, “We serve the one true God and He is our one-percent chance.” A few months later, they decided to get a second opinion. This doctor, after performing an ultrasound gave them a 0% chance of ever getting pregnant, stating it would be impossible to get pregnant naturally.
In the time since, at church events and through friends, the Lord continued speaking to them in different forms. Friends would tell Tiffany to hold onto the promises. Other times the Lord spoke through people saying:
“I have heard the cries of your heart.”
“I have a plan for you.”
“Hold on just a little bit longer.”
“My sweet girl, where are you looking? I’m right here; fix your eyes on Me.”
“Don’t worry about ‘Where do I go from here?’ I am the way. I will make a way because I am the way.”
Throughout the years these prophetic words were poured into Micah and Tiffany’s hearts; bringing peace in a time that was almost unbearable to stand. This gave them a glimpse of hope that could only come from God, as no one knew their story.
As time went on, “Our hurt grew deeper as we watched friends and families announce pregnancy after pregnancy, all while we patiently waited. We had only shared our story with our family, as we felt like no one could truly understand us. Our families started to encourage us to pray about adoption.” However, “We felt like everyone who adopts has that specific calling on their life. We don’t just want to adopt a ‘band-aid baby’ to make us happy. We want to do what God wantsus to do.” They started questioning themselves: “Are we just being selfish? Are we doing the right thing?” But at the end of the day, even amidst all the hurt and pain, they both knew that God was speaking and He had them right in the palm of His hand. In total it took them 4-5 years to truly heal. And through it all, they are still giving God all the praise, because “He has kept us together through this journey.”
They started attending Harvest OC a little over a year ago. Right away, Tiffany had a strong desire to start serving again in children’s ministry, so she volunteered for VBS. Shortly after, both Micah and Tiffany started serving as third-grade Sunday school teachers. They believed that even if they couldn’t have their own children right now, they could at least help raise the next generation. Once again, they started to think about adoption and foster care, but they didn’t know how it was all going to work; most of all they felt discouraged because they still didn’t feel a calling.
“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up” (Galatians 6:9 NLT).
For Micah, he knew that as a godly husband there were certain things he needed to do. “I know I need to lead my family.” So he went online and googled “barren” and “Harvest,” just trying to find help from his church family. He came across an old thread that provided a phone number. He called the number right away and was transferred to Pastor Vince Bueno. “At this time, I just didn’t know where to go. I felt like Harvest had become our family and family always knows how to help. I just started to search for someone, because I knew God would show up. God connected us to Pastor Vince and we couldn’t have been more blessed. He had such a nice heart and heard everything we had to say.”
“We look at our story and we know God’s hand is in it, but we feel like we are in the middle of a storm and can’t see the end of it. It is painful to share because we know there is hope but it feels like there is none.”
For Tiffany, it’s been a season of feeling hopeless and lost. “I felt like I wasn’t a real woman, that I couldn’t provide the one thing a woman should bless her husband with. I felt like no one could relate to me and that no one could understand my broken heart. Every time I saw a pregnancy announcement, it felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest. It says in Romans 12:15 ‘Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep,’ but I felt like no one was weeping with me. I started to believe in the lies of the enemy, that I was worthless. I started to ask God, Why am I here? What is my purpose in this world, if I can’t do the one thing a woman is created to do? I would cry countless nights, in a pool of tears, screaming out to God to heal me. Throughout the years, I would hear such hurtful things, women talking about their pregnancies like it was a horrible burden, to overhearing a coworker say, ‘If I couldn’t give my husband a child I would die.’ In these moments, I felt so broken and purposeless. I struggled with being angry at God, asking ‘How could You do this to me? I have walked with You my entire life.’ I was raised in a strong Christian home, led worship, and served in every ministry possible. Ever since I was a little girl, my heart’s desire was to be a mom. I’ve had several different dream careers and always knew that I would give them all up in a heartbeat to be a mom. Throughout this horrific journey the Lord has changed me in more ways than I can explain. First, I am stronger than I ever gave myself credit for. The fact that I’m standing here today is a miracle in itself. I held on to the word of God daily, even in the most difficult of days. Today, I know that God does not show favoritism. Romans 2:11: ‘For there is no respect of persons with God.’ God is not a vindictive God, nor is he a hurtful God. People, friends, and family may hurt us but God is pure love. We have been hurt a lot throughout life but I know God’s love for us is so much stronger than any hurt that we have walked through. This is our story, a story we have kept hidden for too many years. A story that will forever be of healing, love, and God’s grace. Even in the most confusing of times, God is doing everything for our good. It says in the Bible that God wants to give us the desires of our heart. And that is the promise we are forever holding on to.”
As they talked to Pastor Vince, they heard about the Foster/Adopt email list–a list that gets sent out that shares the needs of those who have adopted or are fostering children. They signed up to receive the email and a month later a thread came through sharing that a family who is fostering two little girls needed a double stroller. Micah felt in his heart that he needed to buy this stroller. Even in this difficult season, “at least I can help.” They asked how to go about this and were told to contact the family and arrange a meeting time to deliver the item. They met the family at the Tyler Mall in Riverside and were repeatedly thanked for the stroller. Micah and Tiffany were able to encourage them, share a little bit about Harvest, and pray for them.
It’s a blessing to be a blessing.
We know, as a church body, that God answers prayer in His perfect timing. He bends down to hear the whispered prayer of His own, and thus we continue praying as long as we have breath in our lungs—Psalm 116:2. And so, will you join the church in praying for Micah and Tiffany in this difficult season in their life? Pray for the Lord’s will to be done—Luke 22:42.
“He gives the childless woman a family, making her a happy mother. Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 113:9).
If you would like to join the Foster/Adoption email list to receive notifications regarding the current needs, you can contact Misty Clark, Pastoral Assistant to Pastor Vince Bueno at: mistyc@harvest.org
Related articles
