One of the blessings of my life is being able to serve as a Visiting Clinical Professor at the In His Image Family Medicine Residency program in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I serve there for a week every couple of months and have never failed to be encouraged by the residents, staff, and faculty there. You can learn more about “Image” here.

When I first began to teach there, I was introduced to one of the residents, Craig DeLisi. Subsequently Craig and I did some clinical research on the abortifacient effects of the birth control pill. And, Craig, and his wife Tonya, settled into clinical practice in Texas, and began their family.

Recently Craig wrote to family and friends about the newest member of their family, Anastasha (an-na-STAH-shuh). He has graciously granted me permission to open the door of his and his family’s trial to you. Dear reader, you won’t want to miss Anastasha’s story … and, in future weeks, as I learn more, I’ll post that information here in this blog.

In the meantime, please keep Craig, Tonya, and their children in your prayers. Now, here’s the start of the story:

For you created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Psalm 139:13-14)

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart. (Jeremiah 1:5)

Dear Ones,

We are proud to introduce to you the newest member of the DeLisi family, our daughter, Anastasha (an-na-STAH-shuh).  It is a Greek name that means “resurrection”.

Many of you didn’t even know we were pregnant. Anastasha hasn’t been born yet. She is nearly 5 months (19 weeks) gestation in Tonya’s womb. The reason that we are introducing her to you all so soon is because the day she is born is also likely the day she will go home to be with Jesus.

We found out two weeks ago that our baby has a birth defect called anencephaly. It is a serious malformation of her brain and, unfortunately, is incompatible with life outside the womb.

As long as Anastasha is in Tonya’s womb, she is thriving, healthy and active. We’ve seen her several times on ultrasound. She is moving constantly and her heart is beating.

Assuming the pregnancy goes as expected, she will be born in October. But barring a miracle, she will likely die during or shortly after birth.

Anencephaly occurs in roughly 1 in 10,000 live births.  It wasn’t caused by anything Tonya did or neglected to do. It has nothing to do with her age, her thyroid, or the fact that this is her 9^th pregnancy.

For those of you who want to read and understand more about it, there is a great website that answers questions and even shares stories of some of the families who have given birth to babies with anencephaly. (You can read more here.)

Our hearts are heavy, and we are grieving for the life that will not be lived and the hopes we had that will be unfulfilled. But we are determined along this journey to praise our Father through this storm.

We know He created her and loves her. And in the same way, we love her.

She is our child and feels as precious to us as any of our previous children. Her value to us isn’t because of what she will become, but because of the fact that the Creator of the Universe loves her and called her by name. She is an image bearer of God Almighty.

Therefore, her life, however brief on this earth, has great worth in His eyes and in ours.

Some of you may be wondering if the baby is going to die shortly after birth regardless, then why don’t we just deliver her now (have an abortion) instead of waiting the entire pregnancy.

The simple answer is because we believe that God created this life, and it is not our choice to end it. He gives life and takes away.

It is no more our choice to end it than it would be for us to decide to prematurely end the life of one of our living children.

The other reason is because this is the only time we get with Anastasha, while she is in the womb.

As a family we want to cherish every kick, every heartbeat, every movement we see on ultrasound since we will unlikely have many, if any, of those things once she is born.

Her life as part of our family will be brief, but we wouldn’t trade any of it to shorten the pain that is coming. We couldn’t even imagine such a thing.

“Is she even alive?” you may be wondering.

Yes, she is. She is the most active child we’ve had at this stage in the pregnancy. In fact, Tonya felt her in the womb earlier than the previous eight.

Her heart is beating.  And even more important than that, she has been endowed with an eternal soul by God, which means she is not only “alive” right now, but will truly “live” forever when her life here ends.

She was created, like all of us, to glorify God now and in eternity. And we believe she will do both.

We feel privileged that God called us to be Anastasha’s parents. We know He has good things in store for her life, as well as for ours because of her. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

We are not angry. Like nearly a decade ago when (our daughter) Ariana had leukemia, we do not question God’s purposes in all of this. “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (Job 2: 10).

But make no mistake, we don’t want to be here. Neither of us feels like we have the strength, physically, or emotionally, to get through this. We would gladly let this cup pass from us if He would allow. But at least for now, it appears He wants us to drink of it.

The Lord has been gracious to deliver us FROM great trials in our lives (Ariana surviving cancer, Tonya’s thyroid mass being non-cancerous last August). But He also sometimes delivers us THROUGH great trials. And if He has chosen for us to walk down this path, we are confident that He will walk with us and sustain us.

Please pray for us in the days and weeks ahead.

It has been a very difficult last two weeks, and we know that as the time nears for her birth and death, it will become much harder and more painful.

Pray that our faith would be strengthened. Pray that we would never doubt the goodness and perfect Love of our Father, who is a good Daddy. God is good, and He does what is good. (Psalm 119:68).

Pray for our physical stamina, especially Tonya’s.

And pray that we would fix our eyes on Jesus and spend more time learning and growing in our love for Him as opposed to drowning in the difficulty of our suffering.

Pray for the children. Pray that their formative minds and hearts would not doubt the goodness of their Heavenly Father. Pray that they wouldn’t be angry with God if He chooses not to affirmatively answer their fervent prayers for healing.

Pray against fear. The oldest four children took the news very hard. Pray that the Lord gives Tonya and I grace to shepherd them on this journey in a way that both acknowledges their honest feelings, and also points them to Jesus.

Please pray for those whose lives will be touched through Anastasha’s life. Pray that they would see the goodness and love of God in the face of hardship. Pray that others will be challenged to see her life the way we do and the way we believe the Lord does – as one of immeasurable worth and value, not because we love her or because of what she will ever be or do, but simply because the One who created her and loves her endowed her with such worth.

Finally, pray that Christ would be glorified in us and through all of this. We know that our brokenness produces a sweet dependence on the Lord. It is the Father’s design that trials and afflictions would lead us to rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead (2 Corinthians 1:9). Pray that the Lord does a good, everlasting work in Tonya’s and my life. We desire above all else that He be glorified.

Thank you for your love. We wanted each of you to be part of our daughter’s life from very early on. I know many of you will want to help in tangible ways.

Mostly right now we just want you to pray for us as we press in to Jesus and to one another. You are welcome to share with others to pray for us as well. As time gets nearer to the end of the pregnancy, we may call on some of you for practical help.

May our Lord, who is a good Daddy, bless each of you. We love you.

Craig and Tonya

In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help.From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me. (Psalm 18:6,19)

Sing to the Lord, you saints of His; Praise His holy name. For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime; Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. (Psalm 30:4-5)

PS.  Here is a perspective of a family who had a son with anencephaly that ministered to Tonya and me. You can read it here.

If you would like to send Craig and Tonya a note of encouragement, their email address is delisi@afo.net.

Here’s the entire series of amazing stories:

• The Story of Anastasha – Part 1 (It will bless you!)
• The Amazing Story of Anastasha – Part 2
• The Amazing Story of Anastasha – Part 3
• The Amazing Story of Anastasha – Part 4
• The Amazing Story of Anastasha – Part 5
• The Amazing Story of Anastasha – Part 6
• The Amazing Story of Anastasha – Part 7
• The Amazing Story of Anastasha – Part 8
• The Amazing Story of Anastasha – Part 9
• The Blessing of Anastasha – Part 10 – Day of Life 200
• The Blessing of Anastasha – Part 11
• The Blessing of Anastasha – Part 12 – Day of Life 214
• The Blessing of Anastasha – Part 13 – Day of Life 221
• The Blessing of Anastasha – Part 14 – Day of Life 228
• The Blessing of Anastasha Kalil – Part 15 – Day of Life 235
• The Blessing of Anastasha Kalil – Part 16 – Day of Life 241
• The Blessing of Anastasha Kalil – Part 17 – Birth Day
• Anastasha is in Heaven – Part 18
• Anastasha’s Birth and Death – Video – Part 19
• Anastasha’s New Blog – Part 20
• Update on Anastasha – Part 21 – 1 month after birth and death
• Update On Anastasha’s Family – Part 22 – 3 months after birth and death