It was in the summer of 1984, just after moving to Southern California, that I started to write a story called Cynthia’s Dance. The story was to be about a Christian Cinderella type character that fell in love, but the love was never meant to be. In that loss of love God, would do amazing things in the lives of the characters and bring about something miraculous for generations to come. Over the years, I managed to maintain a passion for the story and even button down specific elements of some of the characters but never really found the glue to pull it all together. Something was missing.
In 2000 I got married to my lovely wife, Laura, and by 2002, we were blessed with our first born son, Nathan. In 2004 we were blessed again with a lovely daughter Grace. In 2007 we conceived again with the intention of having a third child. But about 6 weeks into the pregnancy we lost that child. The doctor told us it was called a blighted ovum. It’s when a fertilized egg implants, but does not develop into an embryo. Many times., the woman doesn’t even realize that she’s pregnant. We did know, but losing a child so early prevented us from knowing the child’s sex.
As upsetting as that loss was, we decided it was a fluke and proceeded to conceive again in 2008. Things looked well for a while. We learned the baby was a boy and named him Joseph. About 10 weeks into the pregnancy baby Joey passed away and was swept into the presence of his Creator. We grieved hard at the loss of baby Joey. He was a normal chromosome child that we were unable to carry full term. Laura was devastated. We prayed about whether we should continue to try to have a third child and felt impressed to do so.
So, in early 2009 we conceived again and were blessed with a baby girl. We grew to love her quickly and passionately, but once again, our precious baby was miscarried and we lost her about 11 weeks into the pregnancy. She did have a chromosomal defect called Turner Syndrome where 99% of the babies who have this defect are miscarried or stillborn. Our daughter Grace took her death very hard and she named her sister, Angela. To this day, she carries her baby sister in her heart wherever she goes.
Despite praying for the Lord to take away the desire of a third child, my wife and I both felt a strong sense that our family was not complete. We even seriously considered adoption, but that was not an open door for us either. So, in spite of much opposition from family and friends, we tried one last time. Later in 2009, we conceived a baby boy. We counted the long weeks after conception anxiously waiting for second trimester. It came and went, and Laura gave birth to Jordan, full term, our sixth and final child, in early 2010. He was 8.5 lbs and perfectly healthy. What a blessing he is! Our prayers were finally answered.
It was during our time of grief and pain in 2009 that I was one day thinking about the story Cynthia’s Dance. Suddenly, I had a thought that sent chills up my spine. I asked my wife, “What if the character, Cynthia, was a young woman who never had the chance to be born, but through God’s miracle, would get a glimpse at her life and meet her parents to bring them healing and restoration?” Laura loved the idea, but understandably so, was not at a place to discuss it with me in detail. I made some notes to the story and put it back on the shelf where it once again sat for years. Finally, in December of 2015, I felt moved to write the story and after 3 years of love and hard work; it has been completed.
Though Cynthia’s Dance took over 34 years to complete I feel that now is the time for the story to be heard. God’s timing is always perfect. Laura and I believe that God had to take us on our personal journey of loss and faith to be able to write this story the way it needs to be written. I hope Cynthia’s Dance will bring you joy, but I also pray that if you have lost a precious child, that you will find comfort within its pages. Cynthia’s journey to this earth and the impact she has on her family is beautifully unique as are each of our six children. I pray you find the story inspiring and encouraging as much it has for me and my wife.
Blessings,
Terry
