the austin stone community church

“How can you, in the midst of a trial, experience joy? What does that really look like?”

After Matt Carter preached a sermon on 1 Peter, Seth and Brynn began to evaluate their faith. Could they trust in Jesus in the midst of a storm? In the last episode of Expectant, Seth and Brynn share their story of trusting Jesus even through suffering—even when they lost what was precious.

“The ultrasounds, the heartbeats, and all the testing came back normal … I could feel her hiccup all the time.”

As parents of two young boys, Brian and Taylor were excited to find out they were pregnant with a baby girl. Then at 37 weeks of pregnancy, the unexpected happened, and Brian and Taylor had to trust God and His purposes more than ever before.

“We were so excited and planning and dreaming of a life with three babies that we didn’t hear the gravity of the situation—and even if we had, it wouldn’t have changed anything.”

Sarah and Will always dreamt of having a large family, but they had no idea about the long, difficult road ahead of them. Through the journey, Sarah and Will learned how to trust God’s heart, even in the midst of immense, unexpected suffering.

“I want to be healed from this grief that I feel, but I don’t want to forget.”

When Felicia and Neill became pregnant with their third child, they walked through tremendous joy and then unexpected suffering. As they continue to care for their children, Felicia and Neill hold on to a unique ebenezer that gives them the strength to embrace their grief.

“This process has helped me realize that any human being that I see is a straight-up miracle from God.”

Jimmy and Staci were parents to a healthy toddler when they got pregnant with their second child. The arduous process of growing their family taught them that above all, their children belong to God and that no matter what, He is good and worthy of their praise.

“I remember God speaking to my heart and saying, ‘This is the journey I have for you guys.’ But at the time, I didn’t know what that would look like.”

David and Kathrin met in middle school, got married after college, and anticipated starting a family together. But after struggling to get pregnant and consulting medical professionals, God began a work in their hearts—taking David and Kathrin on a journey they never expected.

“Life really is about learning to trust God when it’s the hardest.”

Married in their mid-thirties, Val and Rex quickly began trying to get pregnant. But month after month, the pregnancy tests were negative. Through a journey of grieving, rejoicing, and trusting God, Val and Rex continued trying for biological children—and found their true hope in Christ.

“Their bodies were experiencing certain things—their emotions, their hormones—and I knew that something was wrong with my body.”

When teenage Anna noticed that her body wasn’t developing like those of her peers, she began to seek answers from doctors. After getting married in her twenties, Anna and her husband began trying to build their family, only to realize the process of having biological children would not be an easy one.

What do we do when the unexpected happens—the things we didn’t anticipate? The unexpected in this life will come, and when it does, we can expect our God to be faithful, loving, and merciful beyond measure.

“Expectant,” a new podcast season from The Austin Stone Story Team, brings you eight stories from families in our church who have experienced loss, grief, hope, and God’s love in the midst of the things they didn’t expect while building their family.