Cory & Jenna Leman
As I was in the final editing stages of my book, We’re Pregnant! How to Receive God’s Cure for Infertility, I decided to have women who were currently struggling to get pregnant read the rough draft and let me know which sections were confusing, condemning, helpful, etc. I so wanted this book to truly help the infertile and in no way offend or cause added stress! So, although I was a bit nervous, I asked my daughter-in-law, Jenna, if she would do me a favor and read the rough draft and give me feedback.
Jenna is the beautiful, gifted wife of our youngest son Cory and I knew they had been struggling for over a year.
Our whole family had prayed for them and yet, I have learned that infertility is often a very personal path and God wants to uniquely engage the couple on this journey as they get ready to receive their baby.
Jenna gave me great insights that added to my book and I thanked her and acknowledged her in the book as one who was still waiting for her miracle. It was almost one year ago, December 22, 2016, that our entire crew was gathered to celebrate Christmas and Jenna handed me a package with a stocking marked “Baby.” There is a tradition in our family that all the stockings are hung on the mantle, including one marked “Baby” for any new additions to the family. There were already 27 stockings hung with care, including one marked “Baby” as we knew another son and wife were expecting in March. All of us jumped (literally) for joy as we realized this was the announcement we were all waiting for and had prayed for. Today, I asked Jenna to share her and Cory’s journey of infertility and healing. My prayer this Christmas is that their story may inspire someone to continue to believe that God has a baby for you!
Cory and Jenna Leman’s Story
Cory and I started trying to get pregnant after being married for almost 3 years. We really didn’t think at the time it would take us long to get pregnant, but after a few months of trying, I started to let lies from the enemy take over my thoughts. What if we couldn’t get pregnant because I had cysts on my ovaries a couple years ago or because Cory had testicular cancer and had surgery to remove the cancer.
After trying for a little over a year and having no results, we were feeling a little defeated.
I spent time with Jesus and asked Holy Spirit if I should go visit a doctor. I felt like I was supposed to go and have a routine gynecology visit and if the visit went well, I would have the green light to go ahead with help from my doctor, but if I had a negative visit it would be a red light to not receive medical intervention. I went to my appointment and ended up having the doctor tell me since we had been trying for over a year to get pregnant we needed to receive help, but if we wanted help from her then we would have to commit to doing everything that she told us to do.
I felt very uncomfortable in this visit and after going home to discuss this with Cory we decided to forgo any medical intervention at that time.
Month after month we continued trying to conceive without seeing fruit. We continued to stay in a place of rest in Jesus, but at times that was really hard for me – specifically when I would come to the end of my cycle and think ‘I bet I’m pregnant this month, only one more day until I will know!’ Which was followed by the disappointment of another cycle starting.
We held on tight to the prophetic promises we had received over the years that let us know we would have kids of our own.
Fast forward to trying for 16 months, and I was having a hard time keeping clear perspective as my body just didn’t seem like it was cooperating to get pregnant.
I came home from work early one day and decided to take a walk to talk with Jesus. I expressed a lot of my anxiousness, lack of hope and disappointment throughout the past few months. I felt led to listen to Bill Johnson’s latest message after he returned back from the time he spent in the hospital from an attack on his body.
In that message Holy Spirit really highlighted to me for the first time what hope truly looks like when walked out in our lives. I finally felt like I had a newfound strength and was so full of hope for us getting pregnant! The next two months I continued to stay resting in Jesus, holding tight to the promises spoken over our lives and our kids lives though we were not yet pregnant.
I remember in October of 2016 I texted my mother in law and told her we would have our first kid due August 21, 2017. (I know, not the smartest move, but there was something inside of me that was so confident this would happen I had to speak it out!)
I then went ahead and ordered a coffee mug that I would use to tell my husband we were pregnant even though at the time I was actually at the beginning of a new cycle so there was no sign of a child yet in my womb. I remember waking up the morning of December 12th and thinking to myself “this is the day!” Things felt different, and for some reason, Cory decided to have coffee that Monday morning with me even though he had been fasting on Mondays for months. I got up and brought the pregnancy test into the bathroom with me without Cory knowing. I waited and waited… then finally looked at the test. After looking at many failed tests over the past 18 months I was really nervous and anxious!
Instantly, I started jumping up and down, so excited and full of tears—finally, we were pregnant with our first baby and I was over the moon.
Telling Cory we were pregnant that morning was so much fun and we just couldn’t wait to tell both of our families at Christmas!
God is so faithful. Reflecting back on the many times throughout those 19 months of trying to get pregnant I see the goodness of our Father. He was continually reminding us of the promises he has spoken over our lives and we took that opportunity to grow deeper in relationship with Him.
On August 26, 2017, we welcomed a very healthy baby girl, Zoe Jo, who is full of joy and has completely stolen our hearts. With no problem whatsoever, Ella Rae made her appearance on July 16, 2019. We are forever grateful.