When the Statistics are Sobering…

“Fewer than eight percent of all tries at making a baby in a lab dish will succeed,” U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

On the surface, that looks like a devastatingly small chance at becoming a parent.  If you are someone whose hope is rooted in statistics and whose confidence rests on probabilities, you might be deeply discouraged.  Especially if you’ve already tried IVF and failed.

Thank goodness that’s not the whole story.

Think about this…

The truth is, that for any given couple, the chances of IVF succeeding in a given cycle are either 100% or zero.  Those are the only two possibilities.  Either it will work for you, or it won’t.  The number eight doesn’t matter.  It’s not an option.  It is an average across thousands of strangers’ comprehensive IVF experiences.  Nothing more.

That number doesn’t predict your future, or control it.

It.

Doesn’t.

Matter.

Why?  Because, no matter what the outcome in a given cycle, every couple has a chance to progress on their journey toward parenthood.  That’s what matters because this journey is, in some ways, as important as the destination itself.

It is preparing you to be the committed parent God intends for you to be.  It is teaching you resilience, persistence, faith despite trial by fire, vital relationship skills, important self-care priorities, and so much more!  God is not wasting your time.  He is working on you, your relationship and your spiritual life – all while you make this journey.

Will the outcome be worth all the effort?

Yes, if you stop fighting God and start allowing Him to work in and through your story.  Stop doubting His presence and start trusting His timing.  Stop wondering how zero can ever lead to 100%, and realize that it very often does.

Still worried about that eight percent statistic?  Consider this…

One hundred percent of the couples who’ve studied the messages of Pregnant With Hope with me have become parents — all within a year.  One hundred percent of them had experienced zero success before that.

What made the difference?

Consistently, what changed was the depth of their faith in God’s control over the outcome, and their ability to find peace in the midst of uncertainty.   That was the spiritual destination God intended for them to reach before they became parents.

The next time you hear a statistic that rattles you, remind yourself:  God is in control 100% of the time, and that is the only statistic that really matters.

======================================================

For more inspiration and cause for hope, visit PregnantWithHope.com

Thankfulness Can Impact Fertility

Fertility specialist Dr. Alice Domar has spent years studying the correlation between aspiring mothers’ mindsets and the outcome of their infertility journeys.  Her clinical research has consistently found a high correlation between infertile women’s moods and their ability to conceive.  Study after study has shown that lower rates of depression and anxiety correlate to higher rates of pregnancy.

The implication is obvious:  Cheer up!

But it’s not that easy.

According to Domar and her colleagues, feelings of depression, isolation, anger and hostility — as well as stress-related symptoms (headaches, insomnia, etc.) — are common responses to infertility.  What’s the prescription for curing that?  Domar recommends infertile women “seek to restore a sense of joy, hope and well-being.”

Okay… but how?

How do you will yourself to feel something your heart can hardly comprehend?  How do you find joy in the midst of unending struggle?  Where do you find hope when you’re faced with constant heartache, despair and grief?  It’s not as easy as Domar makes it sound.

But, good news.  There is one thing that works:  the power of a thankful heart.  You cannot change your circumstances, but you can change your perspective on them.  Doing that will begin to turn the psychological tide.

Three days ago, I wrote that God’s will is for us to give thanks in all circumstances.  It’s not His will because He wants to mandate gratitude.  It is His will because thankfulness changes our focus.  It  helps us remember the promise that “all things work together for good.”  It reminds us to trust that God is a promise-keeper.  It helps us remember that what looks bad won’t always be bad; our circumstances can and will change.

Giving thanks reaffirms that nothing happens by accident.  Whether or not we understand God’s purpose, we can be confident of His purposefulness.  He is always in control, and nothing comes into our lives without His permission – and His determination to use it for good.  Abundant blessings are part of His plan “to prosper and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future.”

How do you muster gratitude when all you ever get is bad news and failed outcomes?  What can you sincerely thank God for?  See if any of these expressions of gratitude fit your current circumstances:

Thank you that there’s more to my story than today’s bad news.  Thank you that every day moves me one step closer to the blessing that awaits us.  Thank you that you already know the happy ending.  Thank you for other infertile couples; they remind me that we’re not alone.  Thank you for other couple’s good news which reminds me that anything is possible.  Thank you that my trust is not in doctors or statistics, but in the only one who has control over how this story will unfold.

Thank you for those who encourage me; their love and concern comfort me.  Thank you for the resources we have to tackle this problem:  doctors, clinics, medicines, procedures and more.  Thank you for this struggle because it strengthens my commitment to being an amazing parent when I finally get the chance.  And thank you for inspiring messages that empower me — giving me actionable strategies and hope.

Did anything there stir up an inkling of gratitude?  If so, express it frequently;  if not, create your own list.  Whatever you are thankful for, voice it to God and watch your perspective begin to change.

If Domar is right, you will not only be following God’s advice.  Your new outlook will directly impact your fertility.   How’s that for worth a try?

===================================================

For more inspiration and cause for hope, click this link…

Living Like a Leper

“As Jesus was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him.  They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, ‘Jesus, Master, have pity on us!’  When he saw them, he said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’  And as they went, they were cleansed.”

Why do these verses matter to couples struggling through infertility?  Because they provide a template for the transformation from suffering outsiders to blessed & favored ones.

Interested?

At the start of this 4-sentence story, a group of outcasts – set apart (literally and figuratively) by their affliction – call across the gulf of separation.  They’ve been driven out of their community by an affliction they do not fully understand.  They’ve realized they cannot heal themselves.  And they won’t be welcomed back by society unless they are “normal.”  They know that only a miracle can heal them and pave the way for their return.

So, they intercept Jesus on his way to minister to the community that rejected them.  From a distance, they call out to him.  Their words – “have pity on us!” – reflect the truth of their pitiable condition, and their understanding that only compassion can overcome the typical response to their affliction:  fear and judgment.  Please, they beg, let your compassion overwhelm any other emotion… and then, do something to help us.

Jesus hears them, and he responds.  Not by running in the other direction, as most people do when the lepers announce their presence.  Jesus responds by telling them how to change their circumstances by faith.  He says, “Go, show yourselves to their priests.”  In other words, go to those who will confirm that your suffering has ended.  You are no longer a victim.  Your affliction is gone.  You are healed.  It’s over.  What he doesn’t say – but what they sense – is that by the time they get to the priests, they will be “normal” again.

And it happens.

They head for the priests, still lepers.  They arrive, healthy men.  They respond to Jesus’ instruction in faith, and Jesus heals them on the way.  They don’t wait for evidence, and then depart.  Jesus says, “Go” and they hit the road, trusting that He will transform them.

That’s the template.

Too often, infertility makes couples live like lepers — set apart, judged, condemned and forgotten.  They sink into isolation and despair.  But, it doesn’t have to be that way.

If we want our suffering transformed by a miracle, we need to step out in faith.  We need to trust that a miracle is in the works before we see the evidence.  We need to claim God’s promise that all things are possible, and believe that the lepers’ story can be our story, too.

Will it be?  Scripture is full of stories of suffering people whose circumstances changed in an instant; repeatedly, Jesus told them, “your faith has healed you.”  He meant, your willingness to believe opened the door for me.  You invited me into your story when you believed I would come.  When you called for help and believed I heard you and cared.

Don’t think of yourself as a helpless victim.  Don’t live like a leper.  You can call for help any time.  The One who healed the lepers – simply by willing it to be so – is ready to respond to you, too.

Are you ready to believe that He will?

===================================================

For more resources and cause for hope, visit PregnantWithHope.com

This is the Prayer God Always Answers

There is a prayer that God always answers for infertile couples.

No one told me about it when we were struggling to conceive.  At that time, the God I’d grown up believing in no longer seemed generous, loving and faithful.  Instead, He seemed distant, silent, and even secretive.  I had some strong feelings about that, but I was afraid to express them for fear of making a bad situation worse.

So, we struggled on in silence (as if He didn’t know my thoughts).

I felt increasingly invisible and lost to God.  Either rejected by Him or simply ignored, all I could see was that He didn’t seem to be working with us.  In fact, He seemed to be working against us.  Rather than breathing life into our dream, He was thwarting our desire to become parents.  He could have made it happen at any time, but He kept saying, “no.”

Does it seem as if God is thwarting your will, too?  Are you doing everything you can to get to “yes” only to sense He’s repeatedly telling you “no”?  Then pray the prayer He always answers:

Thy will be done.

This 4-word prayer has the power to set life-changing events in motion.  It can overpower whatever emotional distress buffets us, whatever circumstances devastate us, whatever fears paralyze us, whatever thoughts terrorize us.  It is the “open sesame” that makes all things possible because it is the prayer that puts all things in our lives under God’s authority – including us.

It is a prayer of incredible power… because it a prayer of total submission.  It acknowledges that God sees what we cannot see, and knows what we cannot know.  It invites Him to accomplish His perfect plan in and through us, with our complete cooperation.

Can we trust Him enough to give Him complete control?  Can we stop obsessing over our own plans and trust that “no” means His plan is better?  Can we set aside our impatience long enough to give Him whatever time He needs to accomplish His purpose?  And will we?

That’s the hugely important choice we must make.

We can continue to insist on our plans and our timetable, giving God room only to optimize what we will for ourselves.  That path will never lead us to His best.  Or, we can let go of “when?” and “how?” and choose to trust Him completely and unconditionally.  That path leads to nothing less than His very best.

How do I know?  From personal experience, and from my front row seat watching the stories of countless infertile couples unfold.  Every single couple who comes to a place of being able to pray unreservedly, “Thy will be done,” finds joy.  Every.  Single.  One.

May it be so for you, too.

=====================================================

For more inspiration and cause for hope, read Pregnant With Hope: Good News for Infertile Couples

Bad Statistics, Good Outcomes

“Fewer than eight percent of all tries at making a baby in a lab dish will succeed,” U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

On the surface, that looks like a devastatingly small chance at becoming a parent.  If you are someone whose hope is rooted in statistics and whose confidence rests on probabilities, you might be deeply discouraged.  Especially if you’ve already tried IVF and failed.

Thank goodness that’s not the whole story.

Think about this…

The truth is, that for any given couple, the chances of IVF succeeding in a given cycle are either 100% or zero.  Those are the only two possibilities.  Either it will work for you, or it won’t.  The number eight doesn’t matter.  It’s not an option.  It is an average across thousands of strangers’ entire IVF experiences.  Nothing more.

That number doesn’t predict your future, or control it.

It.  Doesn’t.  Matter.

Why?  Because, no matter what the outcome in a given cycle, every couple has a chance to progress on their journey toward parenthood.  That’s what matters because this journey is, in some ways, as important as the destination itself.

It is preparing you to be the committed parent God intends for you to be.  It is teaching you resilience, persistence, faith despite trial by fire, vital relationship skills, important self-care priorities, and so much more!  God is not wasting your time.  He is working on you, your relationship and your spiritual life – all while you make this journey.

Will the outcome be worth all the effort?

Yes, if you stop fighting God and start allowing Him to work in and through your story.  Stop doubting His presence and start trusting His timing.  Stop wondering how zero can ever lead to 100%, and realize that it very often does.

Still worried about that eight percent statistic?  Consider this…

One hundred percent of the couples who’ve studied the messages of Pregnant With Hope with me have become parents — all within a year.  One hundred percent of them had experienced zero success before that.

What made the difference?

Consistently, what changed was the depth of their faith in God’s control over the outcome, and their ability to find peace in the midst of uncertainty.   That was the spiritual destination God intended for them to reach before they became parents.

The next time you hear a statistic that rattles you, remind yourself:  God is in control 100% of the time, and that is the only statistic that really matters.

======================================================

For more inspiration and cause for hope, visit PregnantWithHope.com

The Infertility-Altering Power of a Thankful Heart

Fertility specialist Dr. Alice Domar has spent years studying the correlation between aspiring mothers’ mindsets and the outcome of their infertility journeys.  Her clinical research has consistently found a high correlation between infertile women’s moods and their ability to conceive.  Study after study has shown that lower rates of depression and anxiety correlate to higher rates of pregnancy.

The implication is obvious:  Cheer up!

But it’s not that easy.

According to Domar and her colleagues, feelings of depression, isolation, anger and hostility — as well as stress-related symptoms (headaches, insomnia, etc.) — are common responses to infertility.  What’s the prescription for curing that?  Domar recommends infertile women “seek to restore a sense of joy, hope and well-being.”

Okay… but how?

How do you will yourself to feel something your heart can hardly comprehend?  How do you find joy in the midst of unending struggle?  Where do you find hope when you’re faced with constant heartache, despair and grief?  It’s not as easy as Domar makes it sound.

But, good news.  There is one thing that works:  the power of a thankful heart.  You cannot change your circumstances, but you can change your perspective on them.  Doing that will begin to turn the psychological tide.

Two days ago, I wrote that God’s will is for us to give thanks in all circumstances.  It’s not His will because He wants to mandate gratitude.  It is His will because thankfulness changes our focus.  It  helps us remember the promise that “all things work together for good.”  It reminds us to trust that God is a promise-keeper.  It helps us remember that what looks bad won’t always be bad; our circumstances can and will change.

Giving thanks reaffirms that nothing happens by accident.  Whether or not we understand God’s purpose, we can be confident of His purposefulness.  He is always in control, and nothing comes into our lives without His permission – and His determination to use it for good.  Abundant blessings are part of His plan “to prosper and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future.”

How do you muster gratitude when all you ever get is bad news and failed outcomes?  What can you sincerely thank God for?  See if any of these expressions of gratitude fit your current circumstances:

Thank you that there’s more to my story than today’s bad news.  Thank you that every day moves me one step closer to the blessing that awaits us.  Thank you that you already know the happy ending.  Thank you for other infertile couples; they remind me that we’re not alone.  Thank you for other couple’s good news which reminds me that anything is possible.  Thank you that my trust is not in doctors or statistics, but in the only one who has control over how this story will unfold.

Thank you for those who encourage me; their love and concern comfort me.  Thank you for the resources we have to tackle this problem:  doctors, clinics, medicines, procedures and more.  Thank you for this struggle because it strengthens my commitment to being an amazing parent when I finally get the chance.  And thank you for inspiring messages that empower me — giving me actionable strategies and hope.

Did anything there stir up an inkling of gratitude?  If so, express it frequently;  if not, create your own list.  Whatever you are thankful for, voice it to God and watch your perspective begin to change.

If Domar is right, you will not only be following God’s advice.  Your new outlook will directly impact your fertility.   How’s that for worth a try?

===================================================

For more inspiration and cause for hope, click this link…

Tired of Living Like Lepers?

“As Jesus was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him.  They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, ‘Jesus, Master, have pity on us!’  When he saw them, he said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’  And as they went, they were cleansed.”

Why do these verses matter to couples struggling through infertility?  Because they provide a template for the transformation from suffering outsiders to blessed & favored ones.

Interested?

At the start of this 4-sentence story, a group of outcasts – set apart (literally and figuratively) by their affliction – call across the gulf of separation.  They’ve been driven out of their community by an affliction they do not fully understand.  They’ve realized they cannot heal themselves.  And they won’t be welcomed back by society unless they are “normal.”  They know that only a miracle can heal them and pave the way for their return.

So, they intercept Jesus on his way to minister to the community that rejected them.  From a distance, they call out to him.  Their words – “have pity on us!” – reflect the truth of their pitiable condition, and their understanding that only compassion can overcome the typical response to their affliction:  fear and judgment.  Please, they beg, let your compassion overwhelm any other emotion… and then, do something to help us.

Jesus hears them, and he responds.  Not by running in the other direction, as most people do when the lepers announce their presence.  Jesus responds by telling them how to change their circumstances by faith.  He says, “Go, show yourselves to their priests.”  In other words, go to those who will confirm that your suffering has ended.  You are no longer a victim.  Your affliction is gone.  You are healed.  It’s over.  What he doesn’t say – but what they sense – is that by the time they get to the priests, they will be “normal” again.

And it happens.

They head for the priests, still lepers.  They arrive, healthy men.  They respond to Jesus’ instruction in faith, and Jesus heals them on the way.  They don’t wait for evidence, and then depart.  Jesus says, “Go” and they hit the road, trusting that He will transform them.

That’s the template.

Too often, infertility makes couples live like lepers — set apart, judged, condemned and forgotten.  They sink into isolation and despair.  But, it doesn’t have to be that way.

If we want our suffering transformed by a miracle, we need to step out in faith.  We need to trust that a miracle is in the works before we see the evidence.  We need to claim God’s promise that all things are possible, and believe that the lepers’ story can be our story, too.

Will it be?  Scripture is full of stories of suffering people whose circumstances changed in an instant; repeatedly, Jesus told them, “your faith has healed you.”  He meant, your willingness to believe opened the door for me.  You invited me into your story when you believed I would come.  When you called for help and believed I heard you and cared.

Don’t think of yourself as a helpless victim.  Don’t live like a leper.  You can call for help any time.  The one who healed the lepers – simply by willing it to be so – is ready to respond to you, too.

Are you ready to believe that he will?

===================================================

For more resources and cause for hope, visit PregnantWithHope.com

Infertility & God’s Promises

In the midst of the infertility journey, how can you be assured of what you hope for when it’s not happening?  How can you find peace in the midst of uncertainty and anxiety?  How can you trust a God you’re struggling to understand?

Listen.

Is it possible to hear God speak to you?  Maybe in the Old Testament… but these days?  It would be wonderful to have dreams or visions, like the prophets did.  Or better yet, real-time appearances by God – like Abraham.  Even overhearing God telling His plans for you to someone else – like Sarah did – would definitely help.  But, most likely, that hasn’t happened to you.  And truthfully, you don’t expect it to.

So, how can you hear God speak to you?

When I voiced this series of questions in Pregnant with Hope: Good News for Infertile Couples, I had no idea how much it would resonate with people.  Everyone experiencing infertility wants to know what’s happening and why… but very few people have any idea about how to get answers.

In the infertility Bible study group, we work on dissecting and examining a verse to unveil the specific promises relevant to the infertility journey.  We read aloud, giving the words on the page time to seep into our spirits.  Then, we dig deep beneath the surface of the words to the life-giving truths that underlie them.  In Pregnant with Hope, I walked readers through that exercise with Jeremiah 29:11.

Let’s do the same thing with Psalm 84:11.

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord bestows favor and honor.  No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly” [Psalm 84:11].

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield….”  The words “sun” and “shield” define God’s vital role in our well-being.  He ends the darkness of infertility; He brings light.  He is a life-giving power; His presence affects the fertility of living things.  He is both protector and defender – rock, fortress, refuge and high tower [Psalm 18:1].  He deflects threats to our well-being and our future.  He is always fighting for us, never against us.

“…the Lord bestows favor and honor.”  “Bestow” means to give something valuable, often something that is undeserved.  Everything God gives us is a valuable, undeserved gift; it cannot – and need not – be earned.

The favor He bestows on us is help in time of need [Hebrews 4:16], and grace that is sufficient for the challenges we face [II Corinthians 12:9].  The honor is that He loves us even when we reject Him – out of fear, pride, resentment, or the desire to control.  And, He continues to listen to us, even when we refuse to listen to Him.

“No good thing does He withhold…”  All good things are in His hands, and it is in His power to give them.  He doesn’t refuse to give us any good thing that would be His best for us.  His intention and His deep desire is to bless us.

“…from those who walk uprightly.”  This is the qualifier.  Is it also the reason for infertility?

Dr. David L. Cooper writes, “Whenever the people of God fail to walk uprightly, their conduct makes it impossible for the Lord, who does all things for the best of His children, to bestow many good things upon them that He would like to.”  Meaning?  “So long as we follow Him afar off and crowd Him out of our lives, He is unable to bestow [what we desire] upon us.”

Are you following from afar?  Or not at all?  Have you crowded God out of your life as you struggle to control your infertility and force your solution on your timetable?  If so, you have an opportunity to make changes that will invite God back into your story.  That is the key that will unlock His promise to give you His very best in His perfect timing.

================================================

For more resources and cause for hope, visit PregnantWithHope.com

Living Like Lepers with Infertility

“As he [Jesus] was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him.  They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, ‘Jesus, Master, have pity on us!’  When he saw them, he said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’  And as they went, they were cleansed” [Luke 17:11-14]

Why do these verses matter to couples struggling through infertility?  Because they provide a template for the transformation from suffering outsiders to blessed & favored ones.

At the start of this 4-sentence story, a group of outcasts – set apart (literally and figuratively) by their affliction – call across the gulf of separation.  They’ve been driven out of their community by an affliction they do not fully understand.  They’ve realized they cannot heal themselves.  And they won’t be welcomed back by society unless they are “normal.”  They know that only a miracle can heal them and pave the way for their return.

So, they intercept Jesus on his way to minister to the community that rejected them.  From a distance, they call out to him.  Their words – “have pity on us!” – reflect the truth of their pitiable condition, and their understanding that only compassion can overcome the typical response to their affliction:  fear and judgment.  Please, they beg, let your compassion overwhelm any other emotion… and then, do something to help us.

Jesus hears them, and he responds.  Not by running in the other direction, as most people do when the lepers announce their presence.  Jesus responds by telling them how to change their circumstances by faith.  He says, “Go, show yourselves to their priests.”  In other words, go to those who will confirm that your suffering has ended.  You are no longer a victim.  Your affliction is gone.  You are healed.  It’s over.  What he doesn’t say – but what they sense – is that by the time they get to the priests, they will be “normal” again.

And it happens.

They head for the priests, still lepers.  They arrive, healthy men.  They respond to Jesus’ instruction in faith, and Jesus heals them on the way.  They don’t wait for evidence, and then depart.  Jesus says, “Go” and they hit the road, trusting that He will transform them.

That’s the template.

Too often, infertility makes couples live like lepers — set apart, judged, condemned and forgotten.  They sink into isolation and despair.  But, it doesn’t have to be that way.

If we want our suffering transformed by a miracle, we need to step out in faith.  We need to trust that a miracle is in the works before we see the evidence.  We need to claim God’s promise that all things are possible, and believe that the lepers’ story can be our story, too.

Will it be?  Scripture is full of stories of suffering people whose circumstances changed in an instant; repeatedly, Jesus told them, “your faith has healed you.”  He meant, your willingness to believe opened the door for me.  You invited me into your story when you believed I would come.  When you called for help and believed I heard you and cared.

Don’t think of yourself as a helpless victim.  Don’t live like a leper.  You can call for help any time.  The one who healed the lepers – simply by willing it to be so – is ready to respond to you, too.  Are you ready to believe that he will?

===================================================

For more resources and cause for hope, visit PregnantWithHope.com

Infertility Survey Says…

In a recent study of 200 women, a high correlation was found between those who said they were religious and those with low rates of anxiety/depression during fertility treatment.  Lower rates of depression and anxiety correlate to higher pregnancy rates.  So, it stands to reason that spiritual women should have more pregnancies. –Newsweek, 3/24/08

In the beginning, when couples walk through the door to the infertility Bible study, the men look apprehensive, and the women, fragile to the point of tears.  But that changes.  Over the course of the study, they come to realize the wisdom of letting go of (the illusion of) control.  They learn the value of being still and listening for God.  And with that understanding comes peace in the midst of uncertainty.

I can literally see the change occur.  Body language goes from self-protective – arms crossed, gazes averted, huddled close to their spouse – to open, relaxed, and receptive.  The real change is occurring in the spirit, but it is reflected in the unspoken language of the body.  That change indicates God’s growing presence, which creates new possibilities.

So, is the study right in its prediction that these increasingly spiritual women have more pregnancies?  I’d have to say, yes.  And no.  Yes, because experience has shown me—again and again and again—that those who see infertility as an invitation to draw nearer to God, and who respond to that invitation, are likely to become parents.  But no, because sometimes the result is not a pregnancy; sometimes, it is an adoption.

Here’s the important thing:  that is no less a miracle.

I don’t say that as a Pollyanna.  I’m not advocating, “be happy about failure,” or “suck it up and compromise.”  I’m saying, make a paradigm shift.  Recognize that, sometimes, God calls couples to steward a soul who comes into their life in a different way than they might have expected.  That’s not defeat; that’s a different plan for victory.  And it is no less a gift.

Are those couples disappointed?  Truthfully?

“Alumni” couples often return to the Bible study to talk to current participants about their experiences.  One entire class is devoted to hearing from adoptive parents.  They speak with conviction about their certainty that their particular child belongs with them:  “God chose him for us,” “We knew as soon as we held her that she was meant to be our daughter.”  In some cases, they also share stories of the effect the adoption had on the birth parent(s).

With loving grace, I suggest to you:  let go of your vision of how this story will unfold, and when.  Give God as much room as possible to work in your story.  He wants to give you His very best.  He wants to create a pinwheel of blessing, and it may touch souls you don’t even know.

Will you make way for that possibility?

====================================================

Find more resources and cause for hope at PregnantWithHope.com

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