Friday, January 15, 2010

A Friend Loves at ALL Times

I was blown away recently when one of my friends (who already has children of her own) told me that she had bought a book on "infertility" just so that she could read it and try to understand what I was going through. I was so amazed that a friend would give up her precious time to read about a topic that she wasn't even struggling with, in hopes to help encourage me and be a better friend to me in my darkest hour. WOW, I am blessed! It really made me take a hard look at my heart and wonder if I would do the same thing for my friends who are struggling with various things...and shamefully, I have to admit that I am often too selfish with my time. This was a real wake-up call for me and gave me the desire and motivation to be a more devoted, compassionate friend.

Once she finished reading the book, she passed it on to me in hopes that it might help me too. So far, the book has been awesome. I can relate to everything she says and I would highly recommend it to anyone struggling with infertility. Some of the things in the book are a little different that what I am used to (since she is a strongly devoted Catholic) but our feelings, fears, and desires are all still the same. I'm sure that I will end up posting sections of the book on my blog, but if you want to get it yourself it is called, "A Spiritual Companion to Infertility" by Julie Irwin Zimmerman. Even for those of you who aren't struggling with infertility, it really might help give you insight into what the day-to-day battle is like.

The past month has been one of the hardest yet in our three year journey, and yet things seem to be taking a turn for the better. My body finally seems to be regulating itself (after two months of acupunture and God's miraculous work!), and I am so thrilled to see it go back to "normal" after years of inconsistency and unpredictability. I am truly amazed at how acupuncture really seems to balance out the hormones in the body and help your reproductive organs to do their job! Since going off of birth control, I haven't had a regular cycle without the help of fertility medications or hormone injections...until now! YAY!! I am giving God the glory each step of the way and praying that our chances of conceiving will greatly increase in the coming months!

On a different (yet similar) note, after much prayer and consideration, Johnathan and I have decided to attend a couple of different seminars to learn more about international adoption, and to see if God might be leading us down this road. For a long time now, we both have been convicted that this is something that God wants us to do at some point in our lives - we just don't know exactly when. We really need prayers for God to give us clarity on when exactly He wants us to pursue this, as well as what agency and country He wants us to adopt from.

So, as you can see, there is a lot going on and yet so much to be excited about and grateful for! The holidays were rough, but we have hope that we are going to get to experience some beautiful miracles in 2010!

Joyfully,
Brooke

6 comments:

  1. I love this post! How great!!! Get ready, sounds like God is speaking! Happy miracles to you. Looking forward to the next post.

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  2. What a blessing your friend is to you that she would spend her time reading and trying to understand what you're going through. I know that God has something in store for you and Johnathan. I'm thankful your body is getting more regulated like it should be. We're continuing to lift ya'll up in prayer.

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  3. What a sweet friend to read that book. It is so hard for people who have not dealt with this to really understand. That is a true friend. I will be praying for you guys as God continues to work in your body and pray for you as you seek His direction about adoption.

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  4. We are sharing in your hope and continuing to pray! I can't wait to hear about your seminars and see how God continues to heal your body through the acupuncture. Love you!

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  5. I LOVE your friend! How amazing to explore this emotional journey when she didn't have to! She is a blessing!

    I wish you luck as you start these seminars. Mark and I have been discussing this same path over the last couple of weeks.

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  6. When are your seminars? We will pray extra hard on those days!! Your beautiful MIRACLE will arrive in 2010!!! And before that you will get to go on a cruise with your bestest friends! Woo hoo!! Like Tamara, I LOVE your friend, too! :) So many people just overlook how painful it must be for those going through this, so for that person to be so loving and sensitive is rare! Love you!

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