Hello! My name is Jillian Heerlyn, and I live in Southwest Michigan with my husband, Todd, and our 4 children. We began our personal battle with infertility in 2007, and have since walked alongside many other couples whose lives have been affected by infertility. Although infertility was a huge part of our journey for many years, it is only part of the story.
I am a work (stay) at home mom. My oldest is in 8th grade, followed by a fourth grader, then a 5 year old, and lastly a 3 year old. I will do the math for you. There is a 4 year gap between the first two children, a 5 year gap between number 2 and number 3, and a then only a 1.5 year gap between our third and fourth children. That’s not the picture-perfect-I-have-it-all-mapped-out PLAN that most of us have when thinking about our family story. Then again, how many of our stories actually turn out how we expect?
Through a whole lot of wrestling with God, I have come to realize that God writes really great, gripping stories. I am confident that your story is both unique and incredible. I would love to hear about it. Here on my blog and in my book, I give you a window into our story.
Todd and I try our best to live by Jesus’s commission to Love God and Love People. We believe that people are the most important “things” on the planet. As students and while on staff with a campus ministry, we spent nearly 10 years ministering to college students at Western Michigan University. Todd is currently a 3rd grade teacher, and we have chosen to have me stay home with our children in the season while they are young. I also ride horses and give horse back riding lessons, dabble in photography, and have been known to set up shop at a few local craft shows, in addition to writing.
I have always felt compelled to encourage others and mentor those who are walking similar paths to those I have walked in hopes of making their journey a little easier. This blog and my book, Hope Deferred, are a product of that compulsion.
If you would like to join us in learning the secret of being content in any and every situation (Philippians 4:12), we invite you to follow my blog. If you are curious to know more about our infertility journey, we invite you into our story in the book, Hope Deferred: Finding Peace in the Midst of Infertility.
Jillian’s recent reflections:
Living Through History
This Present Day
Do I Want to Escape This Season, Too?
Why I am (not) fearful of the coronavirus
Barren Trees
A Fresh Start
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