Right now, 1 in 8 Americans is suffering from the pain of
infertility. It may be temporary, it may be permanent. But it is devastating,
heart-wrenching, and largely a secret.
From the perspective of a person who has walked this road, I
cannot understand why the subject is treated with such secrecy – why it’s
considered so private and so rare, and therefore so shameful. The moment I started
searching for answers to my situation,
I uncovered a universe of women (and men) searching for the same answers to
their own circumstances. By following blogs of other women experiencing
infertility, I have found a wellspring of support and courage that has been
part of my healing, and the reason I sought treatment through counseling and prayer. Otherwise
I would have figured it was over and done with and I had no choice in the
matter.
The point is, we are not alone. We’re probably not alone
even on our own block, let alone our neighborhood.
I admit straight up that I’m not a public advocate. I don’t
think about my two miscarriages and subsequent diagnosis of infertility very
often. But if I “go there” for more than a few seconds, the horrific pain of
that time in my life still surprises me. It’s a potent reminder of the depth of
suffering in this world.
I’m not an advocate, but I am definitely a supporter. I continue
to blog in the hopes that someone will read my story and know that this isn’t
the end, many things are possible, and God desires to
bring healing to your heart first.
In honor of National
Infertility Awareness Week, I encourage all of you who read this to take
comfort in the fact that you don’t walk this road alone. The greater the
awareness, the easier it will be to find answers and get support for treatment:
from friends, from family, from God, and particularly from insurance companies
who can start to support treatments so we don’t spend oceans of money over the
course of the journey.
