I asked for a sign....

...and I got multiples.

I've blogged before about how I have conversations with God, usually in my car. Since I am in yet another IF low point, I've had more than one pleading conversation with the Lord. I usually get my signs soon after I beg and plead, but this time I was put in my place and my answers came in full force this weekend.

Ask and you shall receive indeed!!!

Sign one: Last night at the reception for Mr. JB's cousin (beautiful wedding, perfect weather and an amazing meal that I was able to enjoy -- the BRATT diet totally works and I am off cheese for an extended period of time since I am sure that it was the culprit!).

Mr. JB and his brother disappeared from the reception hall after dinner and I went searching for him. I ran into his cousin's dad and his wife outside and I was complaining about how cold I was. At this point in the night everyone (well, not me, but it's because I was behaving myself because of my bad belly) had a bit of a shine going, if you know what I mean (wink, wink!) and I was complaining about how cold I was. Well Mr. JB's cousin's wife said, "Well that's not normal JellyBelly! You've got to get your thyroid checked! It's not cold in the hall!" Then I told her about how I was always cold and she continued, "Well, a girl at my office had thyroid issues and she was always cold and she was also having problems getting pregnant [btw, I have NEVER discussed my IF with this part of the family, so it totally took me by surprise!] and then she got her thyroid sorted out and BAM she got pregnant." Yes, she was more than a bit tipsy and yes, she was speaking really fast which she is prone to do when she has been drinking, but I was absolutely flummoxed.

She was happy to hear that I had gotten my thyroid checked in July and she kept on saying that she was sure that it was what was keeping us from conceiving. Apparently Mr. JB and I have been fodder for some family gossip, which isn't a surprise since he comes from a huge family from a small town. Well at least she had something positive to tell me and I definitely count that conversation as a HUGE sign!

Sign two:

This morning at mass (btw, have I mentioned how much I LOVE having a brother-in-law that's a priest! We didn't even have to leave the house for mass this morning!) I did the second reading. For some reason I have always been the psalm reader but this morning I read the second reading. I had a tough time holding it together, but I pulled through.

This is the part that got me:

By faith Sarah herself, though barren, received power to conceive, even though she was too old, because she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one person, and this one good as dead, descendants were born, "as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore."

Needless to say I was pretty distracted after my reading. It was like a hammer to head from above!

Sign three:

This afternoon we visited Mr. JB's uncle (it was his grandson that got married) and we ended up staying for dinner. Uncle J had a stroke a number of years ago and is lucky enough to have had ten kids that help look after him. Last week he fell out of bed and his homecare worker found him on the floor bleeding. He has been on blood thinners for quite a long time and when he gets cut the bleeding takes a LONG time to stop. He's one of the toughest people I have ever met and he really likes me (we had a photo taken with him and I was sitting beside him and he grabbed my arm and entwined it with his! For a big tough guy, he sure is sentimental!).

I was helping clean up after supper when Mr. JB's cousin K asked me right out of the blue about how I was doing in the pg department. I knew that she struggled with miscarriages after having her daughter 10 years ago, but we had never talked about it. She told me about having endo herself which wasn't diagnosed until she got pregnant, apparently she didn't have any symptoms until she was 30! She also asked me about my doctor and how I was doing mentally. After we spoke for a while she apologized for prying, but the conversation felt so natural and I was so relieved to finally talk to someone that understood! She also understood that IVF was something that we didn't want to do.

I told Mr. JB about my conversation with K when we got back to his dad's house and his only response was, "Well K's awesome that's why."

It seems to me that we have a lot of people praying and worrying about us. It has been very difficult for me to open up with our families because it's been so hard on me. I'm one of those "fake it until you make it" kind of people and the last thing I want is for someone to feel sorry for me!

I'm definitely thankful that the Lord got through my thick skull. I know that each encounter was meant to touch me in some way and that I'm supposed to keep the faith that this IF business will work out.

Mr. JB and I are leaving for the Poconos on Tuesday morning and we're going to make a special trip to St. Gianna's Shrine. If you have any special intentions for me to pray for while we're there just leave a comment on this post. I'm super excited because TCIE is going to meet up with us!

p.s. This was my 400th post. Have I mentioned that my lucky number is 4?