Today is my Blessingway, a time of pampering, support and empowerment for me, the expectant mama. Fertility issues, pregnancy, child birth, babies…they’re a big deal. Last night, our pastor talked about taking what burdens you and allowing it to fuel your service to the world and it really spoke to me.
What burdens you?
It’s an important question.
What news stories bring you to tears? Adoption? Hunger? Cancer? It doesn’t have to just be the sad news stories but the positive ones that bring on happy tears, too! What people or groups do you encounter that you can’t stop thinking about? The homeless? The deaf? The illiterate? What need do you see that leaves you thinking, “What can be done about this??”
They say to be the change you want to see in the world, I even talked about it last week here: Giving Back
That’s what our pastor challenged us to do–go out and get busy doing the work to address the issue that burdens you.
He also mentioned that some people know theirs. I’ve known mine for quite a while now and God keeps nudging me about it so here goes.
What burdens me is women struggling with fertility and pregnancy issues.
They think one miscarriage means they can’t carry a baby to term. They’ve been told they’ll never conceive. They think their struggle to get pregnant is punishment due to promiscuity or an abortion. They’re about to give up on ever adopting. They have one “miracle baby” and can’t bring themselves to hope for another.
It stems from my early miscarriage in 2008.
It was Mother’s Day weekend and the only time I allowed myself to break down was in the shower that Saturday and I remember telling God (through gritted teeth), “I WILL use this for good someday.” I wasn’t going to let the enemy get the last word. I was determined to use whatever journey God had me on to offer encouragement and grace to women who would have to endure what I did (or worse).
That journey resulted in baby Ethan coming home from the hospital a year to the day later. Now we have our long-awaited daughter due within the next month.
It has been a long process of letting go of lies and unbelief and clinging to truth and hope.
It’s time for me to embrace my story and be the change.
Women need…
- a safe place to tell THEIR story and explore their feelings
- education and resources related to fertility, pregnancy, birth, etc.
- help working through regret from a past abortions, promiscuity, etc.
- birth control options
- fertility coaching to achieve or avoid pregnancy
- churches and pastoral staff who understand and address their needs
I’m eager to find out what the additional needs are and to connect women to the right resources.
I stood amid hundreds of women in various environments in the last few weeks and God spoke the same thing every time: these women need HOPE. They need freedom from shame. They need help conceiving. They need a friend who understands. Who am I to offer that? Who am I NOT to?
I believe I will be instrumental in bringing more babies into this world and more babies into the arms of adoptive parents.
Back to how I opened this post…it is not lost on me that the day after a sermon on what burdens you, I will be surrounded by the women who held out hope for us, who have walked alongside me all these years and who did for me what I can now do for others. It is time and I am ready. I was born to do this.
As we prepare to welcome baby Kate within the next month then adjust to our new normal, I will be transitioning into
- offering more online options related to the Image Consultant side of what I do (less in-person appointments = less busyness)
- assisting my hubby with his real estate career as well as growing our non-profit, Desert Sanctum
- a mentoring role for a variety of things, from fertility coaching to blogging and beyond
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