Several years ago, my husband and I made a pilgrimage to St. Augustine, Florida to visit the shrine of Our Lady of La Leche . I had first heard about this Marian shrine from a friend, who described it as a peaceful place where she and countless others had visited to pray for a child . I arrived at the shrine not fully sure what to expect. Just a few hours later, I left in awe – transformed by an unexpected encounter with Christ. My encounter with Jesus took place in the sacra

Then, Easter changed. It became a season of darkness and perpetual death. This darkness settled in my heart after we miscarried our first and only biological child. I was left barren and fruitless. Although Jesus died and resurrected, I remained dead inside because my fertility was dead and would never resurrect.

The wilderness is upon us. Our sandals are worn and our feet are dusty from the journey we have traveled thus far. We stand on the opposite shore of our deliverance, the enemy defeated, yet our work has just begun. We understand that our God has set us free. Our Lord? The One who calls us “chosen”. There is still so little we know of Him, though He has already revealed so much. Have we forgotten the God of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Our chosen people. Nevertheless