Learning to Trust

I think this day will forever be marked in my memory. It was a year ago that I was pregnant with our precious Makaylan, and Chris and I had just moved to Mozambique. I was right in the middle of my first trimester with serious nausea and intense fatigue. I was also dealing with either a form of culture shock or pregnancy shock. : ) I went to work every day praying that I would make it through the day without puking, and then I would go back home (the Lechner house) and sleep until it was time to make supper. (Told you I was tired.) On this day, a year ago, I experienced one of the worst pregnant days of my entire pregnancy, and it turned out to be the biggest blessing of my life.


Here’s the story:


It was Will Lechner’s 16th birthday, and Angie made him his favorite birthday meal. I remembered he got Dr. Pepper as his gift, but I don’t really remember the meal. Reason? I was experiencing a form of nausea and stomach pain that I had not ever experienced. I knew Makaylan wasn’t in danger, but I still had some intense nausea. I got online and tried to uncover a natural remedy for my intestinal pain, but the options in Mozambique were very limited. Finally, I looked at Chris and asked him to do something. This was a HUGE step in our marriage. We were both single until we were almost 31 years old, and I was not accustomed to “needing” anyone. I remember thinking that I had never felt this sense of need for another person. I didn’t know what to do, and I saw my husband as a source of comfort. This was also one of the first times he, as a new groom, saw his wife in need, and he immediately went into action. He asked Charlie to drive him to different pharmacies to ask if they had anything to help me. They drove all over Maputo and came back home with a “cure.” I remember the triumph in Chris’ eyes as he come home holding what I needed. I also remember looking at him and thinking that he was the most amazing man I knew. It was a glorious moment!

So why do I share this with you? First, I want to brag on the incredible man I have in my life, and secondly, because I am reminded how far I (we) have come in a year. This incident was the beginning of me realizing that God did not design for me to go through life alone. For this independent woman, it was “easy” to depend upon God, but I had conditioned myself to not trust individuals. The saying, “I can do it myself” was my mantra. But, here in this moment, I couldn’t do it myself. I needed someone, and God had given me that someone in Chris. Since that time, we have moved back to Louisiana, went through a pregnancy, experienced labor and sleepless nights, AND we have learned to depend upon each other. It has been amazing to watch how God has taken two VERY independent people and taught them how to trust and rely on each other. This lesson has been a blessing to our life, our ministry, and (more importantly) our family.

Me and my man :)