Tiffany's Story: When God Gives Rare and Beautiful Gifts

A Big Surprise

It’s an understatement to say that Tiffany was surprised. Her marriage was in crisis. They were already separated and their future was not looking good.

The last thing they were expecting was a pregnancy. As they processed the news and what it meant for their marriage, they were hit with another wave of news.

Midway through the pregnancy, they learned their little boy had a common indicator that their baby would be born with Down Syndrome.

As Tiffany drove home from the doctor’s appointment, she wondered why. Why do so many people say God doesn’t give us too much? Why did they have to carry this burden, when everything else was already so heavy? Why, when there was such a ray of hope for their marriage, would it all get crushed with the news that this baby would just be too hard? She felt certain that this piece of news would be the nail that closed their relationship forever.

She braced herself as she told her husband the news. She thought, “If he’s going to leave me, he needs to do it quickly so we can move forward.”

Instead of leaving her, he responded with an overwhelming show of support and unity. The news that Tiffany believed would break the marriage instead served as the healing glue that God used to bring them back together.

Life With Ryan

After complicated labor and birth, Tiffany and her husband welcomed their son, Ryan, into their lives and began a new season—a season with Down Syndrome.

In many ways, Ryan is just like every other baby. He loves his people, is curious about the world around him, and experiences all the typical milestones, though sometimes a little later than other babies his age. Ryan is full of joy, and he brings joy to everyone who meets him.

Their life is so different now that they have Ryan. But he’s a rare and precious gift. Tiffany discovered at one of Ryan’s physical therapy appointments that narwhals—Arctic whales with a single tusk like a unicorn’s horn—are not mythical creatures, but real animals, extraordinary and beautiful. She couldn’t shake the idea that Ryan was their own personal narwhal.

Two days later, her daughter was given a sticker during the children’s programming at the Elizabethtown Campus with a narwhal and the question, “Can I trust God even when it’s hard?”

It couldn’t be a coincidence. For Tiffany and her family, there’s no doubt about the answer to that question. When their marriage was struggling, when they got a surprising diagnosis, when they began life with Ryan—God has been trustworthy. He has been faithful even when they were angry, scared, and anxious. They know with certainty that following Him, even when it’s hard, is the only way they want to go.