Infertility...

Infertility stinks. It really does. I know because I dealt with it for almost 13 years. 

Now, I'm probably not the one you want to hear this from. At this point, I'm 19 weeks pregnant.

This is me:

AND...I'M ABSOLUTELY NOT HERE TO PATRONIZE YOU.

You've had enough of that. Enough of people telling you some sex position you need to try (awkward!), or that their best friend's niece's cousin adopted and then suddenly found they were pregnant.

My situation is a bit different. My ex-husband is infertile and I dealt with the grief that comes with being told that we had less than a 1% chance of getting pregnant. The grief is real. It really is the death of a dream.

And the end of that marriage is another story for another day...

Fast forward to now-- and I have three amazing, quirky, adorable children via international adoption, and a beautiful and talented step-daughter. God did restore the years the locusts had eaten (Joel 2:25). He gave me a husband who loves and serves God above all else. He is my best friend. And he knows great loss. We get each other.

And for some reason, shortly after we got married in January, God allowed me to get pregnant. He did fulfill that dream and desire of my heart.

But for some, it's not to be. I don't pretend to know why. My heart breaks for you though.

I can't tell you why-- or what you should do next when the doctor says that in vitro is not working, there are no sperm to be found, or a hysterectomy is eminent.

Maybe you are supposed to adopt. Or maybe God is sending you into a ministry where it would be difficult to raise a family. I don't have the answers for you.

I can tell you one thing for certain.

Grieve.

Oh, please don't emotionally push past this. Don't tough it out on your own. Grieve as a couple and press into the Lord. Cry out to Him. He is your Abba Daddy and He loves you. Crawl into His Daddy lap and cry. Cling to Him and mourn this loss.  And I won't lie--sometimes this step requires you to process your grief through a counselor. There is no shame.

And when you have come to a place where you are at peace, take the next brave step. Seek His will for your life and step out.

No one can tell you what that step is, except the Lord. I'm not telling you to put your fingers in your ears and chant, "La-la-la-la...", because sometimes God uses other people to show us where He is leading.

And in the meantime, it's okay to decline the baby shower invites (I've even snuck out of a couple of them while quickly wiping the tears away.) Take your time.

If this is something you are dealing with, feel free to respond in the comments. Let's talk.

If I could, I would meet with you for coffee and girl talk. The comment section will have to do at this point! 

Using Our Hard Things to Help Others

Tonight, after our usual family devotions, we began discussing how each of our children could use the challenges in their lives to help others. Now, granted, in our family we run the gamut of challenges--from death of a sibling...to adoption...to physical special needs...to past abuse.

This is an important seed to plant in our children's hearts (and our own); and we all have had individual struggles and challenges that others have as well.

Toward the end of the discussion, I mentioned to our youngest daughter (who was adopted from Guatemala as a baby), that she might one day go back to Guatemala to help people there. She replied with 9-year-old wisdom, "I can go teach people like my birth mom to read."  I had told her that the girls in Guatemala only go to school for a couple of years, if that; and that her birth mother was illiterate.  We went around the room and each of our four kids prayed. Her prayer was that the she could go to Guatemala when she is a grown up and teach the women that they are just as important as the men, and help the girls to go to school and learn to read.

Did I forget to mention that reading doesn't come easily for her? She has dyslexia. However, she knows that she is blessed to live in a country where education is freely available for all children--no matter their gender.

And one day when she is grown, I pray that she does board a plane to her homeland. And that little girls with chocolate-brown eyes and raven black hair will learn that they are precious and valuable.

How can you use the hard things in your life to encourage others and bring them closer to Christ?

How have you been encouraged by others during your challenging times?

Make a list of the challenges you have overcome--the mountains God has moved in your life--and pray that He will give you opportunities to come in contact with others who might need a word of encouragement.

Here's some of mine so far:  infertility, infidelity of a spouse (not this marriage!), adoption, abuse, divorce, remarriage, blended families, step parenting, parenting a child with special needs, parenting a child with RAD, parenting a child who's been abused, etc, etc.

God is good. He brings us through. He invites us to walk on water, with our eyes focusing solely on Him.

And then, we can encourage others who are walking the same path.

God Won't Give You More Than You Can Handle?

"God won't give you more than you can handle." said the well meaning friend/acquaintance/coworker/f@cebook "friend"/great-aunt Millie...

But does He? Is that even a verse?

This phrase is thrown around a lot in Christian circles. So, where does it come from? And if God is so good, why is He doing this to me?

The actual verse reads, "The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure." (1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT)

The verses that surround this passage are actually talking about the temptation to sin and to conform to the world around you. So, what does this have to do with when bad things happen to you? 

Let me make something clear--God allows hard things in our lives to 

1.) Cause us to trust and lean on Him more,

"We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us." (2 Corinthians 1:8-10 NLT)

2.) Make us stronger and prepared for more later in life.

"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." (James 1:2-4 NLT)

Do these verses sound like they are telling us that God won't give us more than we can handle?

No...but they do offer hope that when He does allow hard things to happen in our lives that He will be there. He is developing perseverance and maturity in us.

And when we flippantly say to someone who is hurting and feels like their whole world is crashing down around them, that "God won't give you more than you can handle."--they could in turn, blame God for doing it to them. They could say, "But this is MORE than I can handle...God, you're not holding up your end of the deal!" 

Wow...you wanted to make them feel better, right? Why not say, "God will give you the strength you need" (Philippians 4:13), or best of all, "What can I do for you?" 

For our family, the past year has been overwhelming at best and tragic at most. I can't tell you how often people have offered to help and I've said no. Pride. Or being overwhelmed. The "What can we do for you?" is met with a blank zombie-like stare. When things were the hardest, I did well to put one foot in front of the other. I couldn't think ahead to what we needed. So, from experience, jump in and do something. Insist on doing something specific. 

Listen. Offer a hug. Bring the grieving family a meal. Mow the single mom's yard *, offer free babysitting, and for goodness sakes--FOLLOW THROUGH.

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. (Matthew 25:35-40)

*This in no way is a hint that I need my yard to be mowed. But if you want to help with something, I've learned to say yes. :)