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Love Gift given by Casey E. in May 2007
Hello. My name is Casey E. I have been a part of MSBS for six years now. I have enjoyed listening to all the love gifts over the years but had always hoped I could escape ever having to give mine. I think I was afraid that I didn’t have anything really important or awe inspiring to say. God has been working on me in that area but I cannot say that I have totally overcome that fear. So, this is my story.
I was born and raised in a small town in north Alabama. I grew up in a home where my parents took me to church. I was involved in my church youth group and at the age of twelve I accepted Christ as my savior. I think at that point I thought I was done; I had done everything I needed to do to be a Christian. I was going to heaven, end of story. God blessed me with some great friends. I was generally a good person. I didn’t commit any of what I considered major sins and never really did anything wild or crazy. I think this is what made giving my testimony so hard; I didn’t feel that God have saved me from anything really awful. I went to college at Auburn University where I got involved with the Baptist Campus Ministries. It was through a mentor mom and pastor there that I realized there was a lot more to following Christ than just saying a prayer. I realized that it was about having a relationship with Christ and it would be something I would work at for the rest of my life.
It was in college that I met my future husband Allen. We got married a few months after I graduated from college. Sometime after we got married Allen started looking at residency programs. I’m sure this story will sound very familiar to some of you. He came home one day and told me he wanted to apply to the Mayo Clinic. Now I had heard of the Mayo Clinic but I had no idea where it was located. He told me not to worry because he would probably not even be asked for an interview. Well a few months later he was asked for an interview. He said, “Well I guess I will interview there just to see what it is like; but don’t worry I wouldn’t want to move there.” I worked at the time so I could not go with him to all his interviews but I told him that I wanted to go to this one. I thought this would be my one chance to see Minnesota and check it off as a state I had been to. The big interview came in January and we flew up. We stayed at the Kahler and we didn’t have a car. It was snowing and in my opinion extremely cold. So on the day of his interview I walked around the tunnels. All I saw were old/sick people and for some reason that is what I pictured the whole city of Rochester being like. So when he came in that evening imagine my dismay when he told me he had had a great day and he was really excited about this place. He was seriously thinking about ranking this place first. Now in our marriage Allen has a talent of being able to talk me into almost anything. He just talks about the subject every day until I get so sick of hearing about it that I give in and agree to whatever it is he wants. He started doing research on Rochester and talking about it everyday until I agreed he could rank Mayo first. I must admit that by the time we matched here I was very excited about coming here. I thought I could handle anything for three years. It would be kind of like a big adventure before we moved back home to get on with the rest of our lives.
I got the packet that is sent in the mail to all the spouses and inside it contained a copy of the Mayo Families Connection’s Kaleidoscope. I knew Allen was going to be working long hours and I was determined that I was not going to be bored or lonely. This probably shows what a nerd I am but I decided upon reading it that I was going to join the book club, the craft club (led at that time by the Homme girls) and the Medical Spouses Bible Study. When we first moved here, I taught science at JohnMarshall High School so I couldn’t come to the Friday morning Bible study. So, I joined the Monday night group. I was involved with that group for two years and got to know a fantastic group of ladies. My husband and I also thought it was very important to find a church home. We started attending and eventually joined what is now Autumn Ridge. We have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of that fellowship for the past six years.
We have now been here for six years and I can definitely tell that I have grown closer to God. I have been blessed in many ways and have had three children since coming here. We have had many wonderful things happen here and made many wonderful friends. We have also had several major trials since coming here however, and looking back God has always carried us through these trials.
About a year after moving here I got pregnant. We were so excited to be having our first child. The pregnancy started out very easy and normal but about halfway through the pregnancy I developed a liver condition. My hormones had caused my liver enzymes to become very high. I was put on medication and Parker was watched very closely with ultrasounds and stress tests. Every ultrasound showed Parker was measuring much bigger than was to be expected. Thirty three weeks into the pregnancy I went into pre-term labor. They tried to stop my labor but it didn’t work and so I delivered Parker early. This was scary for us but my husband and I both felt the peace of God surrounding us and by God’s grace Parker was a very healthy boy who weighed as much as some full term babies. He was in the hospital a week and then we were able to bring him home.
When Parker was two months old I started having major attacks of abdominal pain. I ended up having my gallbladder taken out. A couple of months later I started having the same pain again. I talked to my doctor on a Friday and he was going to run some tests on me on Monday. I still remember this because that particular Friday night my husband’s dad died of a major heart attack. We immediately flew home to be with Allen’s family for the funeral and to comfort Allen’s mom. When we came back I had a routine test to try and figure out what was causing my pain and during this procedure I ended up with a bowel perforation. I had to have emergency exploratory surgery the next day which happened to be Valentine’s Day. This was an extremely difficult time for my husband. He had just lost his father and I was very sick. I found out later that several of our friends came and sat with Allen during my surgery. We had so many friends praying for us and Allen and I felt God carrying us through this time. My parents flew up to help out with Parker while I was in the hospital and mom ended up staying for a month to help out. Now my mother has lived in the south all her life and living in Minnesota during the month of February was definitely not her favorite thing to do. It has been three years since Allen’s dad died and I had my surgery. I think that often after things happen you eventually learn why God allowed it to happen. I cannot say that I have ever figured out exactly why this happened. I do think that through this my marriage to Allen has definitely grown stronger. We have a wonderful marriage and I know that I can always depend on him no matter the circumstances.
Having Parker was awesome. I loved being a stay at home mom with him. He was a wonderful baby and we did a lot of things together. I joined my church’s MOPS group and started coming to this Friday morning Bible study. I became actively involved in both groups and have served on both leadership teams for the past two years. I learned a lot about myself working with these two groups. I always wanted to know what the spiritual gifts were that God had given me. Through working with these ministries I have learned that one gift He has given me is the gift of administration. I hope God will continue to use this gift in me and am excited to see what ministries God wants me to serve in when we move to Montgomery.
At one point we had thought that we wanted three or four children but due to the liver condition I had with my first pregnancy we decided we should probably just try to have one more child. We wanted Parker to have a brother or sister. We didn’t count on the fact that I might not be able to pregnant. This was one of the most difficult times I have ever been through. All of my friends were having their second children. I was very thankful that God have given me Parker but all I could picture was him being an only child. I didn’t want him to grow up alone. I must also admit that somehow I thought that if I only had one child that wouldn’t be enough to make a career out of motherhood. I thought I needed several children to be worthy of this.
It took us almost two years to get pregnant the second time. We were so excited the day we found out I was pregnant. During an ultrasound the tech was showing us the baby’s heartbeat and then she looked around again and said here is another heartbeat. I thought she meant another view of the same heartbeat – but my husband asked her, “do you mean two heartbeats?” We didn’t say anything to each other for a few minutes and then he said “I’m going to have to buy you a mini van now”. If any of you know my husband he is not a mini-van type guy. He drives a sports car and couldn’t imagine having to drive a mini-van. He would never admit it but I think he likes driving it now.
The pregnancy had its ups and downs. We were so excited to be having twins. God was giving us an opportunity to have more than two children. I knew I had to take it easy – I still had the liver condition and was immediately put back on medication. I also knew that I had not carried Parker full term and therefore the chances of carrying these babies full term were not good. I went on bed rest when I was 26 weeks pregnant. This was a very humbling experience for me. It is not easy to admit that you need help and to depend on people for most of your needs. God showed me several awesome things during this time. The first was what an awesome group of friends He had given me. There is no way I can ever repay my friends for everything they did for me and my family. They watched Parker countless times, they made us meals but I think the most important thing they did was they prayed for us. I knew during the whole pregnancy that the babies and I were constantly being prayed for. What a huge comfort that was. The second thing that God showed me was what an amazing mom I had. Once again my mom came up here to take care of my family when I needed her. She stayed with us for two months taking care of Parker, fixing meals for us and cleaning my house. She totally put her life on hold to come and help. I know it was not easy for her to do this but she felt like it was the right thing to do and she did it. I only hope that I will always be as sacrificial when it comes to the needs of my kids.
God allowed me to carry the twins until I was 31 weeks pregnant. Abbie and Andrew were premature and were in the hospital for five weeks. Having premature babies is not an easy task and for us it was something that was both difficult and joyous at the same time. Andrew had to have major surgery the day after he was born to repair a hole in his bowel. He lived w/ a colostomy bag for several weeks and had another surgery to repair it when he was seven weeks old. Often during this time I would question God about why they were born so early and why Andrew had to have such major surgery. While I don’t have the exact answers to these questions, I want to share with you three ways God spoke to me during that time.
Jeremiah 29:11 says: “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” The first few days when I was questioning why the babies were born so early this verse kept going through my head. I didn’t have to understand why they were born so early; I just had to realize that this was God’s plan. This is a great example of why God wants us to meditate and memorize scripture. He wants us to be prepared for all circumstances in life. At this point I did not have a lot of time to read my Bible but God kept reminding me of this verse and it was a real source of comfort for me.
A second way that God spoke to me during this time was through music. I’m not a huge music buff but my husband loves the band Third Day. Needless to say I have to listen to their music all the time with him. The songs have never really meant much to me until now. I was driving to the hospital one morning and heard the song “Mountain of God”. The lyrics really touched my heart:
“Even though the journey's long
And I know the road is hard
Well, the One who's gone before me
He will help me carry on
After all that I've been through
Now I realize the truth
That I must go through the valley
To stand upon the mountain of God”
I loved these lyrics because at the time I truly felt that life was very hard and I knew that it was God carrying me through the valley. However, when I look at Abbie and Andrew now all I see is what a blessing God has given me.
Finally, God can even use our children to speak to us. One day while riding in the car Parker was singing the song “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”. When the part came that goes “He’s got the little bitty babies in his hands,” Parker said, “like Abbie and Andrew mom!” It is funny how God can use a three year old to make me realize that my children do belong to God and I have to trust Him to take care of them as He thinks best.
God uses so many ways to reach us. We know he speaks to us through his Word and prayer. I also believe he uses our children, friendships, music, books, nature and many other ways to talk to us. I want to encourage each of you to daily look for the ways God is speaking to you. I truly believe that when you are going through hard times that He will use these ways to encourage you and give you strength.
I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this Bible study and will miss you all.
Hello. My name is Casey E. I have been a part of MSBS for six years now. I have enjoyed listening to all the love gifts over the years but had always hoped I could escape ever having to give mine. I think I was afraid that I didn’t have anything really important or awe inspiring to say. God has been working on me in that area but I cannot say that I have totally overcome that fear. So, this is my story.
I was born and raised in a small town in north Alabama. I grew up in a home where my parents took me to church. I was involved in my church youth group and at the age of twelve I accepted Christ as my savior. I think at that point I thought I was done; I had done everything I needed to do to be a Christian. I was going to heaven, end of story. God blessed me with some great friends. I was generally a good person. I didn’t commit any of what I considered major sins and never really did anything wild or crazy. I think this is what made giving my testimony so hard; I didn’t feel that God have saved me from anything really awful. I went to college at Auburn University where I got involved with the Baptist Campus Ministries. It was through a mentor mom and pastor there that I realized there was a lot more to following Christ than just saying a prayer. I realized that it was about having a relationship with Christ and it would be something I would work at for the rest of my life.
It was in college that I met my future husband Allen. We got married a few months after I graduated from college. Sometime after we got married Allen started looking at residency programs. I’m sure this story will sound very familiar to some of you. He came home one day and told me he wanted to apply to the Mayo Clinic. Now I had heard of the Mayo Clinic but I had no idea where it was located. He told me not to worry because he would probably not even be asked for an interview. Well a few months later he was asked for an interview. He said, “Well I guess I will interview there just to see what it is like; but don’t worry I wouldn’t want to move there.” I worked at the time so I could not go with him to all his interviews but I told him that I wanted to go to this one. I thought this would be my one chance to see Minnesota and check it off as a state I had been to. The big interview came in January and we flew up. We stayed at the Kahler and we didn’t have a car. It was snowing and in my opinion extremely cold. So on the day of his interview I walked around the tunnels. All I saw were old/sick people and for some reason that is what I pictured the whole city of Rochester being like. So when he came in that evening imagine my dismay when he told me he had had a great day and he was really excited about this place. He was seriously thinking about ranking this place first. Now in our marriage Allen has a talent of being able to talk me into almost anything. He just talks about the subject every day until I get so sick of hearing about it that I give in and agree to whatever it is he wants. He started doing research on Rochester and talking about it everyday until I agreed he could rank Mayo first. I must admit that by the time we matched here I was very excited about coming here. I thought I could handle anything for three years. It would be kind of like a big adventure before we moved back home to get on with the rest of our lives.
I got the packet that is sent in the mail to all the spouses and inside it contained a copy of the Mayo Families Connection’s Kaleidoscope. I knew Allen was going to be working long hours and I was determined that I was not going to be bored or lonely. This probably shows what a nerd I am but I decided upon reading it that I was going to join the book club, the craft club (led at that time by the Homme girls) and the Medical Spouses Bible Study. When we first moved here, I taught science at JohnMarshall High School so I couldn’t come to the Friday morning Bible study. So, I joined the Monday night group. I was involved with that group for two years and got to know a fantastic group of ladies. My husband and I also thought it was very important to find a church home. We started attending and eventually joined what is now Autumn Ridge. We have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of that fellowship for the past six years.
We have now been here for six years and I can definitely tell that I have grown closer to God. I have been blessed in many ways and have had three children since coming here. We have had many wonderful things happen here and made many wonderful friends. We have also had several major trials since coming here however, and looking back God has always carried us through these trials.
About a year after moving here I got pregnant. We were so excited to be having our first child. The pregnancy started out very easy and normal but about halfway through the pregnancy I developed a liver condition. My hormones had caused my liver enzymes to become very high. I was put on medication and Parker was watched very closely with ultrasounds and stress tests. Every ultrasound showed Parker was measuring much bigger than was to be expected. Thirty three weeks into the pregnancy I went into pre-term labor. They tried to stop my labor but it didn’t work and so I delivered Parker early. This was scary for us but my husband and I both felt the peace of God surrounding us and by God’s grace Parker was a very healthy boy who weighed as much as some full term babies. He was in the hospital a week and then we were able to bring him home.
When Parker was two months old I started having major attacks of abdominal pain. I ended up having my gallbladder taken out. A couple of months later I started having the same pain again. I talked to my doctor on a Friday and he was going to run some tests on me on Monday. I still remember this because that particular Friday night my husband’s dad died of a major heart attack. We immediately flew home to be with Allen’s family for the funeral and to comfort Allen’s mom. When we came back I had a routine test to try and figure out what was causing my pain and during this procedure I ended up with a bowel perforation. I had to have emergency exploratory surgery the next day which happened to be Valentine’s Day. This was an extremely difficult time for my husband. He had just lost his father and I was very sick. I found out later that several of our friends came and sat with Allen during my surgery. We had so many friends praying for us and Allen and I felt God carrying us through this time. My parents flew up to help out with Parker while I was in the hospital and mom ended up staying for a month to help out. Now my mother has lived in the south all her life and living in Minnesota during the month of February was definitely not her favorite thing to do. It has been three years since Allen’s dad died and I had my surgery. I think that often after things happen you eventually learn why God allowed it to happen. I cannot say that I have ever figured out exactly why this happened. I do think that through this my marriage to Allen has definitely grown stronger. We have a wonderful marriage and I know that I can always depend on him no matter the circumstances.
Having Parker was awesome. I loved being a stay at home mom with him. He was a wonderful baby and we did a lot of things together. I joined my church’s MOPS group and started coming to this Friday morning Bible study. I became actively involved in both groups and have served on both leadership teams for the past two years. I learned a lot about myself working with these two groups. I always wanted to know what the spiritual gifts were that God had given me. Through working with these ministries I have learned that one gift He has given me is the gift of administration. I hope God will continue to use this gift in me and am excited to see what ministries God wants me to serve in when we move to Montgomery.
At one point we had thought that we wanted three or four children but due to the liver condition I had with my first pregnancy we decided we should probably just try to have one more child. We wanted Parker to have a brother or sister. We didn’t count on the fact that I might not be able to pregnant. This was one of the most difficult times I have ever been through. All of my friends were having their second children. I was very thankful that God have given me Parker but all I could picture was him being an only child. I didn’t want him to grow up alone. I must also admit that somehow I thought that if I only had one child that wouldn’t be enough to make a career out of motherhood. I thought I needed several children to be worthy of this.
It took us almost two years to get pregnant the second time. We were so excited the day we found out I was pregnant. During an ultrasound the tech was showing us the baby’s heartbeat and then she looked around again and said here is another heartbeat. I thought she meant another view of the same heartbeat – but my husband asked her, “do you mean two heartbeats?” We didn’t say anything to each other for a few minutes and then he said “I’m going to have to buy you a mini van now”. If any of you know my husband he is not a mini-van type guy. He drives a sports car and couldn’t imagine having to drive a mini-van. He would never admit it but I think he likes driving it now.
The pregnancy had its ups and downs. We were so excited to be having twins. God was giving us an opportunity to have more than two children. I knew I had to take it easy – I still had the liver condition and was immediately put back on medication. I also knew that I had not carried Parker full term and therefore the chances of carrying these babies full term were not good. I went on bed rest when I was 26 weeks pregnant. This was a very humbling experience for me. It is not easy to admit that you need help and to depend on people for most of your needs. God showed me several awesome things during this time. The first was what an awesome group of friends He had given me. There is no way I can ever repay my friends for everything they did for me and my family. They watched Parker countless times, they made us meals but I think the most important thing they did was they prayed for us. I knew during the whole pregnancy that the babies and I were constantly being prayed for. What a huge comfort that was. The second thing that God showed me was what an amazing mom I had. Once again my mom came up here to take care of my family when I needed her. She stayed with us for two months taking care of Parker, fixing meals for us and cleaning my house. She totally put her life on hold to come and help. I know it was not easy for her to do this but she felt like it was the right thing to do and she did it. I only hope that I will always be as sacrificial when it comes to the needs of my kids.
God allowed me to carry the twins until I was 31 weeks pregnant. Abbie and Andrew were premature and were in the hospital for five weeks. Having premature babies is not an easy task and for us it was something that was both difficult and joyous at the same time. Andrew had to have major surgery the day after he was born to repair a hole in his bowel. He lived w/ a colostomy bag for several weeks and had another surgery to repair it when he was seven weeks old. Often during this time I would question God about why they were born so early and why Andrew had to have such major surgery. While I don’t have the exact answers to these questions, I want to share with you three ways God spoke to me during that time.
Jeremiah 29:11 says: “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” The first few days when I was questioning why the babies were born so early this verse kept going through my head. I didn’t have to understand why they were born so early; I just had to realize that this was God’s plan. This is a great example of why God wants us to meditate and memorize scripture. He wants us to be prepared for all circumstances in life. At this point I did not have a lot of time to read my Bible but God kept reminding me of this verse and it was a real source of comfort for me.
A second way that God spoke to me during this time was through music. I’m not a huge music buff but my husband loves the band Third Day. Needless to say I have to listen to their music all the time with him. The songs have never really meant much to me until now. I was driving to the hospital one morning and heard the song “Mountain of God”. The lyrics really touched my heart:
“Even though the journey's long
And I know the road is hard
Well, the One who's gone before me
He will help me carry on
After all that I've been through
Now I realize the truth
That I must go through the valley
To stand upon the mountain of God”
I loved these lyrics because at the time I truly felt that life was very hard and I knew that it was God carrying me through the valley. However, when I look at Abbie and Andrew now all I see is what a blessing God has given me.
Finally, God can even use our children to speak to us. One day while riding in the car Parker was singing the song “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”. When the part came that goes “He’s got the little bitty babies in his hands,” Parker said, “like Abbie and Andrew mom!” It is funny how God can use a three year old to make me realize that my children do belong to God and I have to trust Him to take care of them as He thinks best.
God uses so many ways to reach us. We know he speaks to us through his Word and prayer. I also believe he uses our children, friendships, music, books, nature and many other ways to talk to us. I want to encourage each of you to daily look for the ways God is speaking to you. I truly believe that when you are going through hard times that He will use these ways to encourage you and give you strength.
I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this Bible study and will miss you all.
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