Infertility Encouragement from Sarah's LaughterSample

YEE-OUCH!!!!

If you touch the red hot heating element of your oven with your bare skin, it doesn’t take long for your flesh to cook completely! While my hungry husband looked on, I reached into the oven to pull out a bubbly, cheesy pizza, but instead roared out in pain—and dropped the pizza! In a nanosecond, the top of my middle finger grazed the heating element and pain sensors raced from my finger to my brain and back again at least a bazillion times. I dropped my spatula, began spinning around like a hippopotamus attempting ballet, and grabbed the nearest bottle of aloe I could find. For the rest of the night, I pampered my right hand in an effort to make the hurt go away.

There’s been a difference in small things since I burned my hand. Before The Pizza Incident, it didn’t hurt to wash my hands. Since the burn, I’ve washed my hands cautiously because the burned area is so sensitive. I’m not using my hand the same as I did before I got hurt—much like your heart since you learned having a baby would not be easy.

There was a difference in your heart before infertility made an entrance into your life. Before baby hunger set in, it didn’t hurt to see pregnant women and newborns. When you thought it would be fun to try to conceive, the thought of baby showers was exciting; now it’s excruciating. People say things to you that went unnoticed before; now their words rip your super-sensitive heart out. There are some people and some relationships you feel you cannot enjoy now. Perhaps you can rekindle them when infertility is a part of your past, but not now. It just hurts too much since infertility has become your heart’s companion.

When I burned my finger, I reached for a bottle of aloe vera. It soothed the burn and allowed healing to begin. When your heart hurts because someone else has announced the arrival of a healthy baby on the anniversary of your miscarriage, reach for the One who holds the healing balm for your heart. Jesus knows when your heart cannot carry the burden of hurt any more and invites you to cast your heavy cares on Him.