In late 2012, my wife, Lindsey, and I were celebrating a year and a half of marriage, a new house, and we had just found out we were six weeks pregnant with our first child. We were so excited! But shortly after the New Year, my wife had a miscarriage. We were absolutely devastated.
At that point in our lives, we didn't know God, nor had we planned to get to know Him. We considered ourselves to be "CEOs" at church (attending only for Christmas, Easter, and random other weekends). So that Easter, as we were trying so hard to get pregnant again and dealing with complications in getting pregnant, we decided we needed to send up a "Hail Mary" prayer. Lindsey Googled "fun, relevant churches in Blaine, MN." The first result? Eagle Brook Church. "Sure, why not?" we thought. That Easter morning we arrived late, of course, to a large building with an overflowed parking lot. "Figures," I thought. "A bunch of other CEO brethren thinking, 'Let's get this over with and come back in eight months for Christmas.'"
But immediately we were greeted and welcomed at the door. We entered and found a warm and brightly colored lobby filled with people. We looked to our right and saw a coffee shop. "What the? This is different," we thought. We started making our way further in. At this time they announced that the auditorium was full, so they put chairs in the lobby. We sat down, people packed in around us, and then the music started. And as we were sitting in the lobby, in a building we never knew existed before Googling it, all we could think was, "May this place give us some hope with our infertility issues."
The message started. Pastor Bob started talking about the resurrection, and the message was so relevant because Bob reminded us that Jesus was alone on the cross, and that many of us are probably feeling alone as well. Then it hit us. Bob said, "Maybe some of you are going through a divorce or struggling with school. Or maybe you are dealing with infertility..." Lindsey lost it. She started sobbing at a place where no one knew who we were or what she could possibly be crying about. A random woman behind us supplied her with Kleenex. I held her hand, leaned over and whispered, "We're coming back next week, aren't we?"
After that, we kept arriving (late, of course) to an overflowed parking lot, sat in a crowded lobby, and watched a band play on a TV monitor while we sipped our mochas. But in this random place we found on Google, we started to feel at home. God was slowly transforming us.
At this point, we had been praying for guidance with what to do next. And through the messages and other things we kept hearing the word: Adoption.
Fast forward to October 2014. We became members at Coon Rapids, got baptized, and finally completed the long paperwork process of adoption. As we were praying for a child and our future birth mom, the holidays came and went. Then one Saturday morning in January, we found out we were pregnant again. At this point, life was going so good for us. Our faith was being strengthened, and we were going to Financial Peace University and church every weekend. I even emailed Pastor Bob to share what God was doing in our lives, sharing how God blessed us with a child and thanking him for everything.
But then, in late March, the unthinkable happened. Lindsey called me from a routine check-up, frantic. At 17 weeks into our pregnancy, we lost our baby due to a rare umbilical cord accident. We were devastated once again. But this time it hurt even more. Not just because we were further into the pregnancy, but because of where we were spiritually. Why would God do this?
We continued to pray, but we couldn't understand God's plan. Why would He do this to us? Then, in June, Lindsey received a message. An old high school friend reconnected with her on Facebook asking where we were at in our adoption process. Her niece was 38 weeks into her pregnancy, and her original choice for an adoptive family fell through. That Tuesday, we met a beautiful young woman, and two days later she asked if we would adopt her baby girl. Without hesitation we accepted. Without hesitation, we prayed.
Then, just TWO weeks later, we got our beautiful baby girl, Reagan Marie Redmann.
But just to prove that God is God, just TWO weeks after that, as we were getting ready for Reagan's baby shower, we found out we were pregnant again! This time, after the immediate shock wore off, we prayed again. Eight months later, we had another beautiful baby girl, Lucy Evelyn Ann Redmann.
Which brings us to today. After two devastating miscarriages and months of unsuccessful infertility treatments, we now have new life in Christ and two beautiful daughters, Reagan and Lucy.
Eagle Brook Church has helped build a foundation in our lives through God. In our ever-changing story, He has certainly tested us, and we know He will continue to do so over the course of our lives. Thanks to the strong relationships we have built at Eagle Brook, we know the Anoka campus is just the next step in our relationship with Christ. And we know that the new campus will help create and share more stories to those who attend, perhaps even to those who Google "fun, relevant churches in Anoka, MN."
We've been praying for the new Anoka campus to help further our relationship with God, not just for our family but for the surrounding community. It's easy to share our enthusiasm for Eagle Brook because it's been so welcoming and rewarding.
Alex and Lindsey Redmann attend Eagle Brook's Anoka campus. They are excited to start volunteering at the new Anoka campus when it opens this weekendLindsey at the Cafe and Alex as a parking volunteer. If you see them on the weekend, say hello!
