reflections

I recently had a conversation with a friend from church and after our visit she prayed for Jeff and I. This really touched me, for in her prayer she said, “…God I know that it is Your desire for us to have children, and to raise them according to Your ways, so I pray that you would be with and bless these two as they are struggling with infertility...” It really got me thinking later that yes, God does desire for us to have children. So I started doing some digging around and looked back through my journal at earlier dates, and pulled out some thoughts that I’d like to share on my blog. First there are a few stories that I read about way back when I was first diagnosed, and read through them again recently. This first one is about Sarah:
Sarah’s Story
God is faithful to his promises. What he promised to Abraham and Sarah he was faithful in fulfilling. God does not make this exact same promise to each of us but we do learn something else from Sarah's story:
God is the giver of life and he can bring about miracles. We do not know what God may be doing in our lives - even when it seems like he is not doing anything at all. God can surprise us!

Even though Sarah doubted that she would have a child and even laughed when God said you shall give birth to a son, because she was well past the age of child bearing years, he fulfilled His promise to her. God had a plan, a purpose and a will for Sarah and Abraham’s lives. What we are going through in our journey as well is a part of God’s plan and in His timing he will bless us with what we need.

Hannah’s Story
God wants us to turn to him. We don't have to pretend we are without pain, but can give this to God and know that he can answer our prayers.

"In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD."
In Hannah's words - "I am a woman who is deeply troubled... pouring out my soul to the LORD... out of my great anguish and grief." (1 Samuel 1:10-16)

There is no pretense that she is not hurting, not blindly trusting God but really wrestling with the pain of infertility.

I know that I can also take my pain to the creator and pour out my soul to him, and on the flip side take all my joys to Him as well. God doesn’t intend for us to suffer although it may be hard to see at the time. I know when I was first diagnosed it was very difficult to see my pain and suffering as part of God’s intended plan for my life. Looking back now, He has made me stronger in my faith and my relationship not only with Him, but also with the people that I love, grow stronger.

“Faith to move mountains”