Thriving in the Barren Place: When God Meets You in the NICU with Paula Romang

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts! What happens when the Christian life you imagined doesn't match the reality you're living?  When the prayers aren't answered the way you hoped?  When suffering becomes your daily companion? Paula Romang thought that if she just did all the things and checked all the boxes, God would deliver her version of the wonderful Christian life on a silver platter. Good Christians don't suffer. What she found out was that lie wasn't true. Paula Romang shares her raw, beautiful, heartbreaking journey of raising twin boys—one healthy, one with severe special needs and a terminal seizure disorder. Paula discovered that God doesn't promise an easy road—but He promises to never leave us on it. Isaiah 43:2  "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." Paula Romang's website 0:26 Paula's Beauty for Ashes Story Begins 0:36 The Infertility Journey & IVF Process 1:38 Pregnancy Complications Begin 2:16 Matthew's Struggles Become Clear 3:16 Emergency Delivery Decision 3:37 The Twins Are Born 4:37 Paula's Christian Foundation 5:29 Faith Forced Into Action 6:18 Living with Heart & Apnea Monitors 7:21 The Exhausting Feeding Schedule 8:21 Shattered Expectations 8:51 "Good Christians Don't Suffer" - The Lie 9:31 Learning We Are Not in Control 11:00 Crisis of Faith & Wrestling with God 11:52 The Truth About Quiet Times 12:31 The Day She Turned Off the TV 13:34 Truth Pouring Into Her World 14:23 Christians DO Suffer - Biblical Truth 15:12 The Growing Disparity Between the Boys 16:05 Diagnosis: Developmental Delay 16:54 Matthew's First Seizure at 18 Months 17:25 The Ambulance in the Driveway 18:26 "I Will Never Leave You" 19:32 Moses & the Tent of Meeting 20:24 Learning to Trust at New Levels 20:42 Walking the Rope Bridge of Faith 22:13 The Barren Place - Book Title Origin 23:13 Christianity is Relationship, Not Religion 24:18 Finding a God Who is Tender & Terrifying 25:20 Getting as Close to God as Possible 25:50 Matthew's Special Needs Journey Continues 26:21 Lennox Gastaut Diagnosis 27:19 First Near-Death Experience at Age 10 28:10 The Feeding Tube & Hospice Decision 28:47 Matthew Wants to Be Home 29:02 Singing Him Home with Hymns 29:17 Everything Paula Wanted for Matthew 29:28 We Grieve with Hope 29:39 Advice for Special Needs Parents 30:37 Scripture is Where You'll Find Help 31:17 Final Encouragement 32:00 How to Connect with Paula Music from #uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/ monument-music/the-beyond License code: PLMOP0FDXHN2NOJG  https://uppbeat.io/t/tobias-voigt/ hope-and-wonder License code: XXAPHVLRL1JYTHLD Welcome to Just Talkin' About Jesus. I'm Jan Johnson, a seasoned believer who loves relationships and, you know, just talkin' about Jesus. Here you will find testimonies of those who God has changed through his grace. Stories of feeling unworthy because of being sex trafficked, or of radical redemption of a woman who grew up with abuse, neglect, abandonment and drugs. A story of an abortion survivor. This and more. Lean in now. Consider subscribing to this podcast, YouTube and Substack- all with the same name: Just Talkin' About Jesus! https://www.youtube.com/@JustTalkinAboutJesus https://jan-johnson.com/ https://justtalkingaboutjesus.com/ https://janjohnsonauthor.substack.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@JustTalkinAboutJesus Thanks for listening! If you have a story to tell, check out the form on my website- justtalkingaboutjesus.com. I'd love to connect with you! No, really.... hit me up!