Meet Lesleigh Zimmerman
Meet Lesleigh Zimmerman
I began my journey as a believer at a young age. I knew a great deal ABOUT Jesus, but listening for His voice and trusting Him were a struggle. Even into young adulthood, it was easier for me to just depend on my mother’s faith instead of choosing to trust the Lord, and I struggled a great deal with fear. At some points in my life, the fear has felt almost paralyzing. I believed God loved me, but I still struggled to trust Him.
In my early 20s, my mother got a word from the Lord that all her children would marry and continue the legacy of following Jesus to a thousand generations. Twelve years passed from the time of that promise to the time I met the man I would marry. When we married and began to try to have children, we battled infertility. I was devastated. When an opportunity arose to adopt a little girl, I thought it was the answer to our desperate prayers and the end of my fear. But as it became obvious that it wouldn’t happen, my heart broke, and fear resurfaced.
A few months later, we found out we were pregnant with our son, Callen. We wanted a big-ish family, and decided to try again soon. Negative test after negative test brought the fear back, and my heart broke all over again.
At a camp in the summer of 2017, the song “Do it Again”, became my prayer, “You made a way where there was no way, and I believe I’ll see you do it again.” I felt like I had clearly heard from the Lord, and I went home confident that He was going to bring us another baby. So, we tried, we waited, we prayed, we begged, all the while battling the fear that was waging war against my faith. We even got bold and asked for a little girl.
In 2018, after 3 years of trying, the Lord answered our prayers, and Matilda was born. When we found out her name means “might in battle,” it was as if the Lord said, “I told you she was coming!”
Recently, we have had been trying to adopt two little boys. We felt like God called us to fight for them. When the courts decided to award them to their mother, we were devastated. I was heartbroken. I couldn’t understand why God allowed this to happen. It felt like these boys had grown in our hearts the way my other children had grown in my belly. When the courts essentially said “no” to us, it felt like the loss of a child. We had done so much preparing in our home and in our hearts only to come home empty-handed.
BUT GOD... He did so much more than we could’ve imagined. Because He caused us to fight for them, their mother fought harder. She surrendered more of her life to the Lord. She walked away from addiction and toward a life of wholeness, as a woman of God and as a whole new mom. She told me once how thankful she was that we were part of her family. And that’s when it hit me that God had done what was best for those boys and what brought Him immeasurable glory!
He took a broken woman and rescued her from darkness and restored her family. Even though it didn’t turn out the way we had hoped, we cannot help but marvel at the way God redeemed it all. He is always and always right!
In my early 20s, my mother got a word from the Lord that all her children would marry and continue the legacy of following Jesus to a thousand generations. Twelve years passed from the time of that promise to the time I met the man I would marry. When we married and began to try to have children, we battled infertility. I was devastated. When an opportunity arose to adopt a little girl, I thought it was the answer to our desperate prayers and the end of my fear. But as it became obvious that it wouldn’t happen, my heart broke, and fear resurfaced.
A few months later, we found out we were pregnant with our son, Callen. We wanted a big-ish family, and decided to try again soon. Negative test after negative test brought the fear back, and my heart broke all over again.
At a camp in the summer of 2017, the song “Do it Again”, became my prayer, “You made a way where there was no way, and I believe I’ll see you do it again.” I felt like I had clearly heard from the Lord, and I went home confident that He was going to bring us another baby. So, we tried, we waited, we prayed, we begged, all the while battling the fear that was waging war against my faith. We even got bold and asked for a little girl.
In 2018, after 3 years of trying, the Lord answered our prayers, and Matilda was born. When we found out her name means “might in battle,” it was as if the Lord said, “I told you she was coming!”
Recently, we have had been trying to adopt two little boys. We felt like God called us to fight for them. When the courts decided to award them to their mother, we were devastated. I was heartbroken. I couldn’t understand why God allowed this to happen. It felt like these boys had grown in our hearts the way my other children had grown in my belly. When the courts essentially said “no” to us, it felt like the loss of a child. We had done so much preparing in our home and in our hearts only to come home empty-handed.
BUT GOD... He did so much more than we could’ve imagined. Because He caused us to fight for them, their mother fought harder. She surrendered more of her life to the Lord. She walked away from addiction and toward a life of wholeness, as a woman of God and as a whole new mom. She told me once how thankful she was that we were part of her family. And that’s when it hit me that God had done what was best for those boys and what brought Him immeasurable glory!
He took a broken woman and rescued her from darkness and restored her family. Even though it didn’t turn out the way we had hoped, we cannot help but marvel at the way God redeemed it all. He is always and always right!
Posted in Faces of Faith