Charliese Brown Lewis- The Journey to Motherhood: God’s Exactness
Hailing from Versailles, Kentucky and currently residing in Lexington with her husband and daughter. Charliese Brown Lewis is an educator, author, editor, radio show host, podcaster, and servant leader who provides platforms for others to use their voices to be genuine, empowered, and courageous. During her career, she has worked diligently to encourage and coach individuals and organizations to develop their vision fully through intentional planning, aligned processes, and strategic partnerships. Given these roles, she still believes her greatest calls are to ministry, marriage, and motherhood. But the journey to motherhood was the most challenging.
Married in 2004, Charliese and her husband decided to wait a year before trying to have a child. After about two years, Charliese realized something was wrong because it should not be so difficult. Month after month, there was no indication of pregnancy. She scheduled an appointment with her OBGYN and was diagnosed with fibroids, cysts, and stage 4 endometriosis. The OBGYN stated that she was likely getting pregnant, but the embryo was implanting itself in the top of the largest fibroid, which sat at the highest point of her uterus. The fibroid was getting nourished, but the embryo was not. Extensive surgery was on the horizon.
“In all, I have had about 15 corrective surgeries trying to first get relief from difficult menstruation, then to conceive. The most challenging one was a myomectomy, which involved a procedure that closely resembles a c-section incision. The recovery was the most miserable surgery I have ever had. I remember not even being able to stand up straight for weeks because the procedure was so involved. The doctor said she removed three large fibroids and three small ones. That was after I had already had surgery two months prior and she couldn’t get everything through a laparoscopy.”
After recuperating for about two months, Charliese became pregnant. Her first ultrasound was normal at about six weeks. The second ultrasound, at ten weeks, revealed no heartbeat. “It was absolutely devastating because this meant I had to have an additional procedure. This was three in the same year and I was just heartbroken and physically exhausted. I remember going to my church when no one else was in the building and just laying on the altar like Hannah. I was literally delirious with grief, but still just praying and begging God to grant me the desire to become a mother. Then, one day, the Holy Spirit spoke to me saying, ‘Do you want to give birth, or do you want to be a mother?’ And that is when I truly surrendered to God’s will and His way. My husband had already said that we weren’t going to try anything else because it was just getting too dangerous – the shots, the fertility medications, the surgeries, and all of the various tests. We would just trust God.”The Lewises embarked on a journey to become parents in a different way. One year after her miscarriage, Charliese and her husband adopted a daughter.
“When we first decided to adopt, we did not know the process or the cost. We had to make some tough decisions financially for a private adoption. But we knew this was the direction God was leading us. He made the provision.”
When the Lewises first laid eyes on their daughter, four months after completing the initial paperwork for the adoption. They realized that God’s hand had been moving and orchestrating the union of the “party of three”. “We’d seen photos of Chloe prior to the day we got her. But when she looked at us and we looked at her, we knew it was God’s divine hand. Amazingly, she looked just like my husband. While initially I thought it was weird, I came to believe it was God’s exactness…His exactness in answering our prayers…the spiritual manifesting itself in the physical. While I believe the ministry of motherhood took place well before I was a mother, I tell our daughter all the time that she healed my broken heart.”
Charliese wants to encourage women who struggle with infertility to maintain their hope, strengthen their faith in God, continue to seek His guidance through prayer and the study of His word, and find a support system. “If it had not been for my faith, I am not certain I would have made it. Being physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausted takes its toll on you, especially when you think that because you cannot physically have a child that you are in some way less of a woman or less of a wife. And that isn’t the truth by any means. God showed himself strong and faithful in our lives. And our daughter is the best parts of both of us.”
Charliese says her testimony will always be Psalm 113:9, “He settles the childless woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the LORD.”
Charliese is president of Robert and Charliese Lewis Ministries Inc., home of The ‘After Church’ Experience blog and radio show, which she co-founded with her husband. In 2018, the company published its first book, From the Test to the Testimony: An Anthology of Women’s Faith Stories. Her written testimony, “And a Happy New Year” talks about her journey to becoming a mother.
Additionally, she produces a podcast and YouTube channel called It’s About Time: Conversations with Charliese and Youlonda, which addresses topics that impact communities such as education, health and wellness, relationships, diversity and equity, and social justice. She also serves as the executive director of Louisville Literary Arts, Inc.
Connect with Charliese at: https://linktr.ee/charlieseblewis
