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Our Charis
Family
Andrea Black
Andrea
Black with little Sarah Rose
Hello my
name is Andrea Black and I am a mother of six wonderful children.
The ages of my children are 5mths, 5yrs, 8yrs, 11yrs, 14yrs and
15yrs. I am very blessed by God to be able to have such a beautiful
group of children.
Many
have asked if I am planning on having another one, and knowing that
my husband Gary does not read the Charis newsletter, I can say I
would love to have a seventh. However, that is not for me to decide,
but the Lord. Out of all six of my children the best labor
experiences were with my last two children. I was blessed with the
service of Charis doulas for both pregnancies and deliveries.
Kristin Schuchmann blessed me with her service during my pregnancy
and birth of Jessica (now 5 years old). Let me tell you, I am crying
now just remembering how awesome that experience was to me. If you
don’t know the Lord and the power behind prayer, then I suggest you
obtain a doula that has a heart of prayer. Kristin prayed with me at
home, in the car, and at the hospital. God was truly present in the
delivery and I have never had it so easy. Jessica was born about 20
– 30 minutes after the arrival at the hospital. I truly believe that
Jessica could hear Kristin’s faithful prayers over us and it excited
her to want to join us immediately! The pregnancy was difficult but
the reward was great. Today Jessica is very active and loves the
Lord with all her heart. I proclaimed that I would never have
another. Why not end with such a great birth experience – right?
Hmmm…..never say never – not with God.
One night I wrestled with God for five hours about having another
child. Jacob thought he had it rough wrestling with God. Five years
had gone by and Jessica was getting prepped for school. Praise God!
Freedom at last! No more diapers! No more spitting up! No more baby
toys! My body was back to normal and fit as a fiddle. (I was, still
am, a personal trainer, sports nutrition specialist and CPR
instructor.) I was happier than ever. I was not going to be
convinced to have another child. No way. I had this one in the bag!
You see I knew my husband did not want to have another one. So, I
figured God would never make me do anything without the unity of my
husband. (I obviously could not have a baby without my husband. You
know the Virgin Mary has already filled the position of that
miracle.) So I made a deal with God. I said to Him, “I will ask my
husband in the morning if he would like to have another child. If he
says no then the idea is not from You and if he says yes then I will
submit”
For those who don’t think God can be funny, let me tell you. He is!
I thought I had this one down. I knew that my husband did not want
another child and I knew he would say NO WAY. So I got up the next
morning strutting in victory. I sat down, called my husband and
simply asked “honey would you consider having another child?” What
do you know? Out of his mouth came the words, “I have been thinking
about having another one and just the other day was praying about
it.” His “no way” became my “NO WAY!” My earlier assumption of
victory planted me on my knees in acceptance of having another baby.
Totally in faith! Knowing I had physical disabilities (spine
injuries) that would put me on bed rest with a cane to walk.
Although the pregnancy was very painful and difficult, I am proud to
say that the joy was greater than the pain.
Charis student doula Heather Jones was blessed to see the “never say
never” become fulfilled in the birth of Sara Rose. It was one of the
most spiritual experiences ever! Yes, pain can be good! Though I was
induced ~ totally not what most would do, God used every bit of it.
I was in labor for 12 hours. Heather, Gary and I played rummy during
the labor and through every contraction we prayed and listened to
worship music; praising God for what was to come. God was so good
that my contractions only occurred when it was their turn to play,
and when it was my turn he let me rest to think. It worked great
because I won many times! When the contractions got extremely severe
both Heather and Gary laid hands on me and prayed aloud. We prayed
through every decision. Even when I gave up, God protected me. There
was a point in transition when the pain in my damaged spine was so
great that I was screaming out to God, “What do I do, Lord?” The
nurse kept offering me medicine to ease the pain and I kept putting
it off crying out to God….pleading with Him to release the pain from
me. I broke and told the nurse to give me medicine. She did, but
before the medicine could take effect I was pushing Sara out. God
was merciful. I had the wonderful opportunity to experience not only
the birth of a child I never thought I would have but to experience
the birth of a new understanding of obedience, faith and submission
to the call of God.
That experience continues to be the rock that I stand on in
marriage, ministry and my future.
Gary
Black holding baby Sara Rose
I am the
founder and owner of
Temple
of Health.
Like the conception of a child, God has placed in me the desire and
passion to facilitate programs for the community involving health
and life saving education. I teach classes on exercise, nutrition,
CPR, first aid training and more. We are in the pregnancy stage of
the Temple of Health ministry and have had a few “braxton hicks”,
but I wait patiently. My last two birth experiences have
strengthened my faith and my awareness that God is never done with
us until He says He is done. I pray through every phase, and lean on
the prayers and support of others when the birth pangs of the
ministry come – knowing that the transition will soon come and the
birth will follow.
For now, I am heading toward college and a career teaching health
and physical education within the school system. Lord only knows
where he will take me from there. Who knows, maybe you will hear of
“Temple of Health” one day… oh, but you just have… see we have just
begun the work that God has called us to.
Blessings!
Andrea
Our
Friends ~ Our Family
We'd love to feature you in newsletters to come!
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