Matt and Kristy Everett
Beginning parenthood looks different for everyone, but what we all have in common is that it is the hardest, but most rewarding experience, all at the same time! Our testimony may or may not sound like yours, but the story of God’s Grace in our lives is one that can give you hope in your journey, because He can and will do the same for you!
Our families went to church together when we were very small, but were soon separated as we parted ways to new churches. We went for many years without ever seeing each other, until one fateful night at a church service, we sparked a random conversation. As the old saying goes, “The rest is history.” I do not think we ever had the wild ride in mind that we were soon to take on! Both of us had been raised in church our entire life, but while dating we certainly did not live like it. We stayed in church and played that role, all the while making decisions that we knew were not right. We knew we were playing with fire and what the consequences could be, but we thought, “What are the odds, right?” After dating for a year, we found out we were pregnant. We were 15 and 17 years old. We waited for a while to tell our family, because we knew it would be hard for them. We were wrong. It was even harder than that. We assumed that we would be treated like every other couple we had ever seen in that predicament, which was hurry up and get married; but that did not happen right away. People reacted much differently than expected. We had family who sternly and harshly tried to force us to raise the baby separately and just co-parent. That was heartbreaking for us and set us up for a hard ride to press on and figure out how to do things on our own. Just as heartbreaking, we had loved ones who even suggested we abort the baby. We could not believe we were hearing these things. We married five months later, when we were 16 and 18 years old. Our first born came five months after that. We had no idea what we were doing. We were trying to figure out how to live together, how to keep this baby alive, and how to learn finances with one meager income. We also added to the list of not so great great choices by both of us dropping out of school. The baby’s grandparents (Kristy’s parents) let us live with them for the first year or two. Without that help, we have no idea where we would be. With everything we were facing, we loved our son more than we could have ever imagined. Despite every trial, choosing life for him was the best decision we could have made! With all we were trying to figure out, just seven months after our son was born, we found ourselves pregnant again. Being only almost 17 and 19 years old, having no home of our own, a family vehicle that did not have enough seats for all of us, being dirt poor, an incredibly rocky relationship, no life goals and no hope in sight, it would have been easy to consider aborting this baby. It would have been easy to make that decision, knowing we could try again for another when we got older and figured it all out. But we did not! We knew this baby too was created for a wonderful purpose and we were determined to give it a chance at life! Our beautiful daughter was born almost 16 months after our son and we were smitten by her! I would like to tell you that it was smooth sailing after that, but it was not … not for a long, long time.
A few months after our daughter was born, my parents nudged us out of the nest and we took a chance to become first time home buyers and it paid off! We got our first home with no help from anyone, except from the Lord! Our life after that was hard. We hid a lot of things from many people. Our relationship was terrible. We lived without heat in the winter for more than one winter, power being cut off, and often having no food. It would take a while to tell you all the problems we faced as a young family, but the main point is, God never left us. No one ever knew how bad off we were, because of pride. Finances eventually got better, but our relationship still was not changing, because we were not completely giving every aspect of our lives to the Lord … not yet anyway. Our lives improved over the years, through His mercy. Dark, hard times did not stick around forever! God graciously walked with us and took care of us. He never left us, not even once! We got our GEDs. Matt embarked on his dream career, and we surrendered to serve the Lord and to be used by Him, and for Him to get all the glory from our lives! Over the years, we welcomed three more absolutely beautiful girls. Choosing life for all of them was never a question. Our choice was to give them a chance, too.
We have now been married 26 years, have five children, a daughter-in-law, a son-in-law, and three grandbabies! If we told you that it was easy after we chose life for our babies, we would be lying. It was not; however, because we chose life for them, five beautiful, wonderful human beings are leaving their incredible marks on this world to make it better! Will your journey be easy? Maybe….maybe not. What we can tell you is that your baby was created with a purpose! It was not an accident! That baby’s steps were ordered when it was conceived! God has a will for that baby’s life, and we pray that your choice will be to give it a chance.