I saw this on the Nest today and fell in love with it...
"What do I think God meant when he gave me infertility?"
Couples experiencing infertility often receive well-meaning but extremely insensitive "advice." We can all list the most popular ones:
"Just relax and you'll get pregnant," or "adopt and you'll get pregnant," or "things happen for a reason", of the most painful from those who think they've got the goods on God's plan, "Maybe God never meant for you to have children." The sheer audacity of making a statement like that never fails to amaze me.
These same people would never walk up to someone seeking treatment for cancer and say, "Maybe God never meant for you to live." However, because I am infertile, I'm supposed to get on with my life. It's hard to understand that people can not see infertility for what it is, a disease for which I have to seek treatment. What if Jonas Salk had said to the parents of polio victims, "Maybe God meant for thousands of our children to be cripples, live in an iron lung or die." What if he'd never tried to find a cure? Who could think for one minute that that was God's plan?
What do I think God meant when he gave me infertility?
I think he meant for my husband and I to grow closer, become stronger, love deeper. I think God meant for us to find the fortitude within ourselves to get up every time infertility knocks us down. I think God meant for our medical community to discover medicines, invent medical equipment, create procedures and protocols. I think God meant for us to find a cure for infertility.
No, God never meant for me not to have children. That's not my destiny; that's just a fork in the road I'm on. I've been placed on the road less traveled, and, like it or not, I'm a better person for it. Clearly, God meant for me to develop more compassion, deeper courage, and greater inner strength on this journey to resolution, and I haven't let him down.
Frankly, if the truth be known, I think God has singled me out for a special treatment. I think God meant for me to build a thirst for a child so strong and so deep that when that baby is finally placed in my arms, it will be the longest, coolest, most refreshing drink I've ever known.
While I would never choose infertility, I cannot deny that a fertile woman could never know the joy that awaits me. Yes, one way or another, I will have a baby of my own. And the next time someone wants to offer me unsolicited advice I'll say, "Don't tell me what God meant when he handed me infertility. I already know."
5 comments:
I absolutely love what you wrote here. I've silently wondered to myself & thought, "God wants me to have children, doesn't He? He wouldn't take that from me, would He?" Everything you wrote reminds me that there is a reason for all of this - the losses, the grief, the frustration, the feelings of separation & loneliness, and the bringing back together & closeness. He will bring me through this and He will bring me one (or more!) of His angels to Earth for us to raise. Thank you so very much.
This post brought tears to my eyes. It was beautifully written. You are going to make an amazing mother.
Hello. This post is likeable, and your blog is very interesting, congratulations :-). I will add in my blogroll =). If possible gives a last there on my blog, it is about the Celular, I hope you enjoy. The address is http://telefone-celular-brasil.blogspot.com. A hug.
Thank you, Maria. This is a beautiful post and made me feel a bit better about things. :)
Amen! What you wrote here is phenomenal! Would you mind if I posted it on my blog, giving credit/linking to you?
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