I am Catholic. So is my wife. In times of difficulty I tend to turn to my faith for strength - it provides comfort and raises hope for better days. After a brief hiatus following our failed IVF cycle, my wife and I have recently begun going to church again and I'm incredibly relieved that we have.
With this year's Ash Wednesday my wife and I enter a Lenten season that will have a much more profound meaning for us than any year in the past. We are going through the biggest trial of our lives, and I know much soul searching, praying and questioning await us. I think we're fortunate that this is the hardest thing we've ever had to deal with, and I hope we can keep that in perspective as we finish writing our story. Things could be so much worse, and there are people out there dealing with things that make our little issue of infertility look minuscule and insignificant. More than anything, I hope we come out the other end stronger than when we entered. I have a lot of confidence we will, and I think we'll get started on that journey in earnest this week as we go into Lent.
An interesting e-mail forward I once read is below (not sure if the figures are 100% accurate, but it's interesting to note how fortunate we are just to live in this country)
If the world were a village of 100 people:
60 would be Asian
12 European
5 US American and Canadian
8 Latin American
14 African
49 would be female
51 would be male
82 would be non-white
18 white
89 heterosexual
11 homosexual
33 would be Christian
67 would be non-Christian
5 would control 32% of the entire world’s wealth, and all of them would be US citizens
80 would live in substandard housing
24 would not have any electricity (And of the 76% that do have electricity, most would only use it for light at night.)
67 would be unable to read
1 (only one) would have a college education.
50 would be malnourished and 1 dying of starvation
33 would be without access to a safe water supply
1 would have HIV
1 near death
7 people would have access to the Internet
I don't see anything on that list about infertility ... probably didn't make the cut (was beat out by "substandard housing", "unable to read" and "HIV")
There are worse things ...
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9 comments:
You're right, there are worse things....but struggling with infertility is no small thing. I hope you guys have success this year.
I have found my faith (also Catholic) to be profoundly helpful as we've struggled, but you probably know that by reading my blog. :)
Sadly, many people in the US can relate to that list, including myself. When I think of how I grew up - !
Faith is important to infertility, but I think each person has to come to it their own way, regardless of what they believe in.
There really are some heartbreaking things happening in the world aren't there.
I'm another one who has found comfort in faith. It is the one place I can go each week and feel a sense of calm and hope and be surrounding by wonderful and caring people.
Thanks for the comments.
FYI - "Annie" is the name we like for our little girl ... whenever she gets here.
My wife and I also struggle with infertility. Have you looked into the Pope Paul VI Institute? They have had amazing success helping couples conceive. We found them after struggling for 5 years and just got pregnant in August.
I'm a Catholic, lapsed Catholic, and I wish I could find some solace in the church and I'm glad that you and your wife can.
Haven't heard of it, but did a bit of preliminary web browsing on the "Creighton" model ... I have to say, I'm not impressed with their web-site (text is too complicated and many of the figures and tables are blurry and illegible) but I am open to learning more about it. Can you provide a good source of data, or any blogs of people that have followed the system? ... we're at a bit of a crossroads on where we'll go next. We're just collecting data that will hopefully reveal the true nature of our problems. It can't hurt to evaluate another system. Any info you can share will be appreciated. Thanks!
My wife and I have a website at CatholicInfertility.org. There is information there and a couple links to blogs of women currently going through treatment. Everyone we've talked to has loved it. If interested, the first thing I'd do is look for a doctor in your area at www.fertilitycare.org/mcteacher.htm.
Awwesome blog you have here
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