Unexplained infertility can seem like psychological torture. No one can tell you what’s wrong, what will work, or if anything ever will.
Faced with little-to-no information, how can you make decisions? When the voice in your head is shouting, “The clock is ticking! You’re running out of time!” how do you think clearly? When the most-likely-to-succeed protocol fails – repeatedly – what should you do next? Where can you turn for input? Who can you trust? And how much more can you handle?
Bottom line: What does it mean when there’s still no baby?
Welcome to a season of discernment.
When Don and his wife reached this point in their infertility journey, Don made a very wise choice. He decided to slow down, wait, and listen. “I’m one who believes God’s touch is very subtle,” he said. “You’ve got to exert immense patience to understand – and wait for – what He’s doing in your life. If you jump to a conclusion, you may miss the message.”
After several miscarriages, Don thought, “We haven’t been able to get pregnant. Is God sending us a message? I was listening and thinking, is God saying, ‘You shouldn’t be parents?’ or, ‘You should take another approach?’” He and Robin decided to join the infertility Bible study to spend time with other couples struggling with the same questions.
“When I first went to the class, I was struck by how many people were emotionally distraught about infertility. But I kept reminding myself: God has a way of moving things around so that it’s a win-win for everybody. It sounds formulaic, but you have to trust Him. Be ready – do your part – but let it come on His time.”
The more they listened to other couples’ stories – especially those of “alumni” who came back to talk to the group – the more they realized, “you have to be patient.” Speed and a desperate sense of urgency had not made these other couples parents. In fact, just the opposite! Quite a few affirmed Don’s sense that “you can’t just take over. God’s got opportunities, messages and subtleties there for you… but you’ve got to be listening.”
Over time, Don and his wife felt a growing, deepening peace about the choice to adopt. “God understood what I needed to make a decision,” Don recalled. “We researched our options thoroughly, moving slowly enough to seek God’s guidance at every step.”
To a casual observer, it might have looked as if they were making no progress on their journey toward parenthood. But in fact, the most important progress occurred when they slowed down and were perfectly still. How so? A birth mother tried to put her twin boys up for adoption five times – but she always changed her mind. Finally, she decided she was ready.
“If we’d been ready 6 months earlier, this mom wouldn’t have been ready,” Don said. “And if we’d been ready 6 months later, we might have missed adopting our boys. I want to recognize God’s timing in this miracle. It was perfect.”
God’s timing always is.
The words “Be still and know that I am God” are not just a suggestion from scripture. They are an imperative command for our benefit. They are also the only way to answer the many unanswered questions on this journey.
When we are still, we make space for God’s voice to be heard. Sometimes, He may be silent. If so, we should stay still, but not be afraid. He has not forgotten or neglected us. And it is not His desire to compound our fear and anxiety.
We must trust that He is well able to speak clearly when we are ready to listen, and when the time is right. Those are the two key ingredients to forward progress.
This season, give yourself the two gifts that will bless your journey: intentional stillness, and active listening. Expect God’s guidance – wait patiently for it – and He will honor your faith with His faithfulness.
He always does.
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For more inspiration and words of hope, visit PregnantWithHope.com or read Pregnant With Hope: Good News for Infertile Couples.
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