my story of infertility and miscarriage

I have told a number of personal stories on this blog over the last seven years, ranging from funny to frustrating. Always, my aim is to write in a manner that is authentic to who I am and illustrates my understanding of a compassionate God. I never want to preach, but only practice.

Somehow, the story I am sharing today hasn't been written until now. It was a story hard to write for myself, but strangely, I felt compelled to write it for someone else. Sometimes it is hard to put all of those tears and emotion into articulate printed words until the purpose and timing is right. I would like to humbly ask for your support as this story is my very first guest post ever, found over at the blog All-American Mom.

May is a month celebrating mothers, and a crucial reminder to me that though I now have three sweet, loving, loud, silly kids pounding through my home, it very nearly might not have been. This is part of the reason that I resonated with Sarah Philpott's heartfelt exhortation to start a cultural shift recognizing ALL types of mothers on Mother's Day: "the moms who have a precious baby they can hold in their arms, the moms whose sweet babies are in heaven, and the women whose heart desire was to be a mom." (allamericanmom.net)

I have been in all three of those categories at one time or another. Though it illustrates one of the harder aspects of my life over the past decade, I wouldn't trade it in because out of this journey comes a newer, deeper love for all women and women's issues, and redefines my ability to minister to them.

The story begins here...

"From the time I was a teenager I’d had issues with my reproductive system. Every doctor I saw for the issue treated it the same way – with birth control pills. I was told there was nothing they could do until I was ready to get pregnant. At age 15 that desire seemed a long way off, but even then I understood the reality that I would one day have trouble conceiving..."

Follow this link to keep reading this guest post at All-American Mom...http://allamericanmom.net/journeyofinfertility/

(I'll see any comments left on her blog... thank you!)

Below are some photos of my mother's day, which started with some morning snuggles by some VERY excited children who couldn't wait to make me feel special by waking me up early.

The rest of the day included a drive and beautiful coastal hike at Pigeon Point lighthouse (South of Half Moon Bay near San Francisco) and Ano Nuevo where you can walk amidst the crowds of breeding elephant seals. Plenty of wildflowers were picked illegally and handed to me in loving bouquets. 

Those aren't rocks back there, they are elephant seals!