Portraits of Grace – Skyla Gwyn

II Corinthians 12:9a “And  he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”

“Grace in Infertility”

 My name is Skyla Kristine Gwyn. I am 29 years old. I gave my life to the Lord as a young teen and surrendered my life to His service. He blessed me with a wonderful husband 10 years ago.  God in his time has also blessed our home with children, but I will save those details for later.

The apostle Paul spoke of God’s grace being perfected in our weakness and infirmities. I’m certain the details of Paul’s life did not go the way he had planned yet he pinned the words to II Corinthians 12:9 and Romans 8:28.

From the time Luke and I married we asked God for children. I imagined little versions of us running through our home. But months of waiting quickly turned to years. In my weakness, I grieved every pregnancy announcement and baby shower invite. The doctors never had any answers for why it wasn’t happening. It was truly out of our hands and in God’s. I struggled to understand what God had planned for us. Many sleepless nights of crying and praying seemed to lead to no answer, but God was there the whole time with His sufficient grace, helping me through my time of weakness.

After five years God led us into foster care. We had 11 different children pass through our home, one of which was a 4-week old baby boy who we loved for a year before he returned home to his biological family. More heartbreak, bitterness knocking on my heart, God once again stepped in with sufficient grace. We decided to give foster care one last try. The call came and three siblings ages 1, 3, and 5 were dropped off at our door. We were told we would have them two weeks at the most, but God and His sufficient grace had other plans for us and them!!! Two years later we stood before a judge and became a family officially! All of a sudden it became clear that all the struggles we had gone through was God’s way of showing His grace to these three little souls. If we had not struggled with infertility, we never would have entered into foster care, If we had not dealt with the losses of other children who had better family situations to go home to, we would have never met our three children. God knew what He was doing the whole time. He gave us grace through every step,  knowing that He was working it all for our good.

Just when I think God has shown all the Grace he has for me, he pours more and more on our lives. This past  December I took a trip to urgent care for suspected flu that I will never forget. God’s grace was so real again, as the nurse said, “ Ma’am both pregnancy tests were positive!” In a few more weeks we will meet our sweet baby boy. TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!!  This is the portrait of God’s grace in my personal life. He has a beautiful one to paint in yours too!