Category: Uncategorized

Praying Big

I have for some time been at a loss when it comes to praying about having a child.  Our pastor has challenged us more than once about our prayer lives to “pray big.”  The point being that we ask too little of God, and he’s just waiting for someone to go all out.  The challenge being that we ought to pray for things that will make much of God; we most often pray for God to handle small things in our lives without venturing beyond the Sunday School requests.  We far less often ask for God to do something huge, like bring 50 new visitors to our church service this week (or even 5 for that matter).

Of course, this challenge hit more than a few sore spots.  My prayer life is probably the least consistent and least disciplined part of my spiritual life.  Ouch.  I find it easy to believe that God still performs miracles, but I find it difficult to imagine that he would do so just because I asked.  More ouch.  The greatest subject of prayer in my life for the last four years has been miscarriage/baby related – usually along the lines of, “Lord, I can’t handle any more of this,” which hardly makes much of God.  But, more than that, I have no idea what I should pray in this situation that will glorify God.  So much ouch that I will punch you if you touch it again.

Before I finish this train of thought, please note that I am not at all saying that we shouldn’t pray about the small things.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The Bible instructs us to pray without ceasing.  God can be glorified in the tiniest details of our lives when we give him credit for working out those details and rely on him to do so.  I am, however, echoing the challenge to pray big.  Why don’t we?  Why are we offended by the suggestion?

Personally, I am afraid to commit to a particular line of prayer when I can just pray for God’s direction and for him to do his will.  Of course he’s going to do his will!  But am I willing to stick my neck out and ask for what I want?  Not so much.  I am technically being faithful in prayer by asking him to do his will, but it is not the type of prayer that will change the mind of God, a la Moses.  Exodus 32:14 tells us that the Lord changed his mind about destroying the disobedient Israelites after Moses pleaded for them.  I don’t know that I’ve pleaded with God in such a manner that I could change his mind.  I’m not sure how I would handle it if the answer to my pleading was “no,” so I have refrained from pleading all out.

I work with 5th and 6th grade kids on Wednesday nights at church, and several weeks ago one of them taught me a giant lesson through the tiniest request.  Someone had left a package of M & M’s sitting out on a table for several weeks and one of the boys asked a teacher if he could take them.  One of the other boys saw this happen and realized that the children’s ministry director probably had more M & M’s, and he might get his own pack if he asked Miss Rhonda.  As Miss Rhonda consented and went to get him a pack, this boy looked at me with an expression that said, “Can you believe what just happened?  All I had to do was ask!”  (Where are the spiritual band-aids, as the ouch is now a grievous wound…)

Since that Wednesday night, I have sheepishly, in the manner of a child asking for some outrageous Christmas present that his parents will never in a million years consent to buy, been asking God if I can have a baby.  I keep asking God if I can carry my own child and hold it in my arms, even if his answer is no – even if it breaks my heart again.

To Tell or Not to Tell

Some of you may think we’re crazy to tell people as soon as we know we’re pregnant, and maybe you’re right.  Most couples wait until they have solid news to report: a heartbeat, the completion of a successful first trimester, and ultrasound picture…  We don’t wait because we never know if we’ll have anything other than a positive pregnancy test to report, and we don’t want to wait for you to start praying.  Less than 1% of the population experiences recurrent miscarriages (three or more), and we are the 1%. (Insert Occupy joke of your choice here…)

The average couple doesn’t have to face the thought that they probably won’t have a successful outcome, even if they’ve experienced a miscarriage.  We do – every time.  Given that we want the troops out in force praying for us, we always talk about it but come to the same conclusion to tell immediately.  Plus, we’re very bad at keeping secrets about ourselves, so if someone asked about my switch to half-caf or decaf, I wouldn’t think before responding that pregnant people shouldn’t have too much caffeine.  I probably risk sharing too much most of the time, but I’d rather over-share than find myself in the miserable place of a few years ago where I was too afraid to talk to anyone.

Besides the prayer support, I would rather people know that we have loved and lost than wonder why I’m being such a crank.  Not telling people about the pregnancy and possibly the subsequent miscarriage would feel a lot like losing a close family member and never telling anyone that they even existed.  I prefer having the emotional support and understanding when I feel like I’m losing my mind during the grieving process than leaving a wake of emotional outbursts behind for people to wonder about.  At least now if I burst out crying at a Lego commercial (it’s happened) you can chalk it up to grief rather than mental defect (I have plenty of those, too…).

The down side of telling everyone immediately is dealing with the aftermath if things don’t work out.  News travels pretty fast, but in our situation there are people who will find out about the pregnancy a month after we’ve already lost it.  It’s awkward to tell someone who’s congratulating you that there’s nothing left to congratulate.  I also tend to feel ridiculous for telling everyone we’re expecting only to tell them a week later that it’s over.  There’s no reason for me to be embarrassed about it, but that’s always my first reaction.  I always think that people will think we’re silly for sharing so soon.  That feeling evaporates almost as quickly as it appears because of the wonderful support and encouragement we get from our family and friends.

For us, telling before we have solid proof of a viable pregnancy is the best option, but it may not be for everyone.  If you find yourself in a similar situation, you’ll have to decide what you’ll be comfortable with.  I find it easier to share now than I did a few years ago, and the openness has helped me tremendously.  But there are plenty of folks who just aren’t comfortable with sharing personal details, and that’s perfectly fine.  Just make sure that you have a small network of friends you can trust and who will support you.  Do not attempt to deal with the grief alone; even superheroes need help on occasion – you are no exception.

Stupid Human Tricks

You are probably far more sane than I.  I have so many quirks as to be considered certifiable rather than merely lovably quirky – just ask my husband.  I have a perfectionist streak that’s at least a mile wide, and it tends to exhibit itself in slightly O.C.D. behaviors.  While some behaviors tend to have roots in childhood trauma – like my fear of an unorganized Tupperware cabinet causing further head injury – I have a few unexplainable, borderline psychotic habits.  I take great care to load my grocery cart in such a manner that you can’t help but unload it so that all my groceries are grouped together, thus making it virtually impossible to bag it out of order.  Yes, there is a correct order to bagging groceries: like things go together, cold things go together, eggs and bread never go with canned goods…  I could go on for a while.  I pretend that the logical reason for this is that I usually have to unload the groceries at home by myself, so it’s important to be able to prioritize what goes in first, especially since I have to climb a flight of stairs for every load.

The reality is I have no idea why I’m so obnoxious about my groceries.  I don’t even let the baggers help me to my car; I like to put the bags in a particular order, and I like to do it myself.  Perhaps I like the sense of control.  I really have no idea, and I’m okay with never plumbing the depths of that particular psychosis.  Not too long ago I was purchasing a large amount of toothpaste and toothbrushes to complete some shoeboxes a friend let us help put together for Operation Christmas Child.  I had other grocery items as well, so I had taken great care to load my buggy perfectly.  Even if a bagger helped me unload it, there was no way to mess it up.  I thought.

One of my favorite baggers came over to help, and he began pulling things out willy-nilly.  Toothpaste commingled with soup cans and cleaning supplies and produce.  I was losing my mind.  Not only had my items been hopelessly mixed, but my large volume of toothpaste was attracting a crowd.  My cashier, the bagger and at least two other store employees were helping to load the items into my re-usable bags, each one remarking on the astounding amount of toothpaste I was purchasing.  I glanced over to watch the bagging process, vaguely hoping that the girls would sort it as they bagged, and noted that the bagging was happening in an even more haphazard manner than the buggy unloading.

And then I realized that I was being utterly ridiculous.  Sure, the mixed up grocery bags would take me more time to sort at home, but I was wasting an opportunity to explain WHY I was buying all that toothpaste.  I laughed off my frustration and explained what Operation Christmas Child does and that the toothpaste they were helping me with was going to a child in another country along with information about Jesus and ways to learn more about being a Christian.  As it happens, all of the people helping me claimed to attend churches that were also participating, but what if I had missed a chance to share my faith with someone who needed hope, only because I was cranky about my grocery compulsion?  How many times do we all get wrapped up in details that really won’t matter past the next hour or day and miss the opportunities we have to share our lives with others?  Did it REALLY matter that I spent an extra fifteen minutes re-sorting my toiletry items?  Not if meant that I was rude to someone else or otherwise returned frustration for well-meaning help.

Maybe one day I’ll throw caution to the wind and not care if my produce gets bagged with canned goods and dog food.  Or maybe I’ll just have to keep reminding myself that it’s more important to inhabit each moment and reflect God’s love to others in every circumstance.

Poop or Get off the Pot

While the title may be a little crass, it’s very much the theme of my life’s contemplations for the last few years.  When I was struggling to decide if I could believe in a God who had allowed me to lose three pregnancies for no apparent reason, let alone eight, I had to get back to basics.  Once I determined that I could not deny God’s existence and convert to atheism, I knew that I had to either believe it all or believe nothing.  But belief without any action is only theory and semantics.  “Love your neighbor” sounds nice, but it’s meaningless if I don’t do it.

Several months ago, our Sunday School teacher was discussing grief and loss and how we handle those as Christians.  He looked at me and asked if I had any wisdom I’d gleaned over the last few years – how had I handled repeated grief and loss?  My response: I have no great words of wisdom – you keep breathing and putting one foot in front of the other until you realize that one day it hurts a little less; and you have to poop or get of the pot.  Decide what you believe and live it, or decide that you believe something else entirely based on your actions.  There seem to be two great and conflicting theories on when it’s easiest to live your faith.  One theory is that it’s easy to serve God when your life is in order and you’re not facing loss or pain.  The other theory is very commonly stated: “There are no atheists in foxholes.”  Times of trial and loss make us want to cling to God, while in times of joy and plenty we tend to forget about him.

In my experience, I may pray more fervently when facing grief, but it’s much harder to act on what I believe when I’m trying to answer the eternal “Why me?” conundrum.  I want my faith to be a meritocracy: I do good things, so good things should happen to me, and I want to pick the good things that happen.  God has given me great blessings materially and in the family and friends he has surrounded me with.  I have more good things in my life than I can count, and I’m acting like a two-year-old over what I don’t get.  Don’t get me wrong, having a child is a huge thing, but when it’s the only thing I care about, my focus gets skewed and I get cranky and jealous.  Trust me, it’s not a pretty look for me (or anyone else, really).

The only way I have been able to get one foot in front of the other is to realize that my primary motivation has to be to exemplify Christ in my life.  I have miles and miles to go, but each day I want to look more like Christ than the day before.  The only way to do that is to live with the blessings and the trials I’ve been given and to do the best work that I can do in every aspect of my life.  Some days that means going to work when I’d much rather pull the covers over my head and avoid my life altogether.  Some days that means painting a smile on my face and reporting to duty at a commitment that it would be easier for me to skip.  Almost every time, what I was hoping to avoid turns out to be less horrible than I thought it would be; in fact, most of the time I find that I enjoy the dreaded activity and realize that I would have missed out on great joy.  Funny how that works.  If I had simply said I believe that God will take care of me and heal my heart but continued to hide under the covers, I would still be hiding under the covers with a broken heart.  When I actually participate in my life and act on that belief, then God uses those actions to keep me in close contact with friends who comfort me, and it keeps me active and distracted from the pain until I wake up one day and don’t want to hide under the covers anymore.

James 2:14-17 is how the Bible sums up my “poop or get of the pot” theory:

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Come Monday

It’ll be alright.  Whatever happens, I know that it really doesn’t matter what the blood test result is because God is in control of my circumstances.  Nothing can take me out of his hands; nothing can stop him from loving me; nothing can take away my faith in a living, creating God.  I certainly don’t understand him all the time, but I still love him even when it hurts.

If you somehow missed the news last week, we’re pregnant – for now, anyway.  My hcg levels last week started out great and then didn’t do what we were expecting on Friday.  Based on the bleeding and cramping over the weekend, I do not expect good news today, but I’m not willing to say it’s over until we get the results of the blood work.  I didn’t let myself think about it much over the weekend except to tell God that I really want to keep this baby, but, more than that, all I need is to follow him.  The world would call that prayer foolish, but I know it’s true.  I have heaven to look forward to, and I have an eternity to spend with the babies we’ve lost.

I don’t wish this baby to be among the losses, but I can’t look past the next test.  Last week, I looked from Monday to Wednesday to Friday.  It’s impossible for me to see past each of the tests that mark the time until the ultrasound.  It’s not that I don’t want to imagine holding our little one in nine months, but I can’t.  One day last week, I went to a giant baby store and wandered around, indulging the desire to dream of decorating a nursery and pick out toys and clothes as if I were any first-time expectant mom.  It was great to visit, but I can’t live there – not until we have a baby with a heartbeat.

It sounds horrible to admit, but Friday after I got the news of our hcg level, I didn’t let myself cry or think that it was over; I made plans for a few running events in case it turns out that I can actually do them.  That’s the only bit of dwelling on the negative I’ve allowed.  It may seem morbid to plan a running program “just in case,” but it’s actually pretty simple psychology.  If we lose this baby, I need something to focus on that I can look froward to and that will make me feel proud of myself when I accomplish it.  I suppose that always choosing some sort of physical fitness feat like a triathlon or half-marathon is probably simple psychology, too: if my body won’t do what I want when I’m pregnant, then at least I can make it do something I want it to do in the athletic arena.

All weekend I’ve blundered my way through congratulations and people asking if we’re excited.  For the record, I stink at these conversations.  I say something that will make the other person stop talking – something that they want to hear, like “Thanks, we’re very excited,” or “I can’t wait!”  It’s insincere at best and usually it’s a lie.  I’ll be excited when we have good news; until then I’ll be guarded and optimistic.  The people who know better – our friends – have just been sweet and honest by saying, “We’re praying for you, and other than that, I have no idea what to say yet.”  That is priceless and that keeps me positive when I’m tempted to start the hand-wringing.  Those are the friends that know what I know: come Monday, I’ll either still be pregnant or I’ll be preparing to run a race, but either way, I’m running the race God set in front of me.  You are the friends that support me: running with me (literally, Melissa, and I love you even more for it!!), supporting me when I’m weak, dragging me to the first aid station when I fall, and cheering no matter what.  Know that I am blessed to have you in my life and that come Monday, I’ll need you more than ever, whatever the lab results may be.

Hello, Blog, It’s Me…

Sorry I’ve been absent for a while.  I’d say my schedule has been running me instead of the other way a round for the last month.  I realized this morning that I haven’t posted an update from the October 15th service, so I promise that is coming SOON!  I may not be prolific this month since I am also participating in NaNoWriMo (http://www.nanowrimo.org/ if you think I’m just making crap up…).  I am thinking about posting a private feed with my results if you promise to critique nicely.  When I get that far, I’ll post about it, and you can ask me for the password if you’re interested in reading what will hopefully end up being a full-length novel by the end of the month.

Fortunately, it has been a productive month.  The October 15th Memorial Service was beautiful, and we had surprise press coverage.  I’m slowly building on my NaNo word count (the goal to be a winner is 50,000).   I’ve lost 25 pounds over the last two months, and I won one of the two “Most Improved Temple Awards” in our class.  I am probably more proud of that trophy than almost any other award I’ve ever gotten.  I also got a medal in a 5k race that I ran/walked incredibly faster than I imagined I could.  Now my competitive streak is flaring up because I am working my duff off to improve on that time in the Turkey Trot.  I realize that if I complete a 5k at any speed that I should be proud, but I really want to prove that chubby people can run – without having a heart attack. 😉  Oh, and it’s also nice to fit into smaller clothes.

We’ve also finished all of the testing to proceed with IVF, so we’ll meet with the doctor right before Thanksgiving to plan our next steps.  My dear, sweet husband has been warning people that I may soon look like the kid in The Exorcist with my head spinning around.  Needless to say, he’s expecting hormone treatments to be a cake-walk.  Ha!  We both know I get cranky when I’m “hormonal,” so you’ve been warned.  I feel like this sounds like a Christmas card letter with all of the catching up, so sing a little “Feliz Navidad.”  And I promise to try to write more often.

How Dieting Became Spiritual Awakening

“The nature of sin is not immorality and wrongdoing, but the nature of self-realization which leads us to say, ‘I am my own god.’ This nature may exhibit itself in proper morality or in improper immorality, but it always has a common basis— my claim to my right to myself. When our Lord faced either people with all the forces of evil in them, or people who were clean-living, moral, and upright, He paid no attention to the moral degradation of one, nor any attention to the moral attainment of the other. He looked at something we do not see, namely, the nature of man (see John 2:25).”  from the October 5th reading in My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers

I started an official diet last week (www.body4believer.com if you’re interested).  It’s fairly strict on what and when to eat, which is exactly the type of diet I usually avoid.  However, it is very simple to follow, and it’s very simple in its classification of how well you stick to the plan: you are either hot or cold.  There can be no middle ground, no mostly following it with a few changes, no close enough for horseshoes or hand grenades.  You either do it or you don’t.  So far, I have lost almost five pounds, which is more than I lost in two months of dieting my way.

My weight loss efforts always fail because I cheat.  I let myself off the hook if it’s a bad day: “I feel really stressed right now, so it’s okay to have an extra cookie (or five).”  I get busy and don’t make time for exercise.  I am an emotional eater, so I justify my bad eating by telling myself it’s just for this one day – just this time.  I realized last week that my body completely represents my spiritual condition.

I let myself cheat all the time.  I tell myself that acting in anger is justified in the situation.  I rationalize thoughts that I know are totally unacceptable to God because I cling to the right to own myself.  I have often put up walls with God.  I struggle with being a woman and being a Southern Baptist Christian because of the very literal interpretation of what women should be and do in the church.  This, however, is a rather theoretical argument for me, as I have never been prevented from serving in any church I’ve attended.  I use this as leverage to hold on to my identity as a woman in the church.  I want to hold on to my right to my own identity, when in reality, I have no right but to follow God if I profess to know him.  Here’s where the last week of dieting comes in.

When I have been tempted to eat chocolate cake or barbecue or cheat in any way, I’m finding that my reason for denying myself is the realization that I have no right to cheat.  I skipped the hard work for years, so now I have a lot more work to do.  There are no shortcuts.  To borrow from our pastor, I can’t pray my way out of something I behaved myself into.  I can no longer hold onto my right to eat chocolate cake because I will have to earn that freedom after I do the work to get back into shape (preferably, one that’s not round).  I am starting to see blind spots that I developed in my faith where I skipped the hard work, and I realize that Oswald is right again: proclaiming my right to myself is my sin.  My claim to myself leads to over-indulgence and obesity, physically and spiritually.  Denying my right to myself is hard work, but necessary if I want the freedom to be what God created me to be.

October 15th – How You Can Help

You are all invited to the October 15th Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day memorial service (details here https://mabbat.wordpress.com/october-15th-memorial-service/).  If you can’t come but would like to participate, here are a few ways you can help:

PRAY!!  Pray that women and families who need healing will come to this event and find comfort and acceptance.  Pray that those who need help and/or counseling will have the courage to ask for it through our registration cards.  Pray that God will use this time to draw people into relationship with him.

Light a candle.  And tell someone why you’re lighting it.  There is an “official” Wave of Light you can participate in by lighting a candle on October 15th at 7:00 p.m. in whatever time zone you live in and letting it burn for an hour, the idea being that there is a continuous wave of light that begins that evening and covers the whole country as an act of remembrance.   Even if you haven’t lost a baby, if you read this blog, you know someone who has.  Given that 10-15% of all acknowledged pregnancies end in miscarriage, and some estimates put the actual number at 40% of all pregnancies (March of Dimes statistics), you know someone else who has lost a child this way.

Give back.  Donate time, supplies or money to an organization who is working to save lives, like Sav-A-Life (www.savalife.org).  Or a non-profit foster care and adoption agency, like Agape (www.agapeforchildren.org).  I mention these because I have friends who work for both of these agencies, and they do a lot of good work in the local community.

There are lots of ways to help out even if you can’t or don’t want to attend an event.

The Art of the Ugly Cry

We all have something that we’re ridiculously afraid to do, even if it might help us feel better.  My husband will do anything not to throw up (who can blame him??); I will do almost anything to avoid the ugly cry.  Ladies, you know the one: your skin gets blotchy, your face contorts uncontrollably, your nose runs more with each sob, and you can’t turn it off until the ugly cry has run its course.  Guys, you’ve all seen it at least once (many, many more if you’re married…), and you feel powerless in its wake: the woman you love has morphed into a blotchy, snotty, sobbing beast – usually for a reason beyond your control – and nothing you do will return her to you.  Ah, the ugly cry.  Life would be so much more dignified if we could shed quiet tears and sniffle gently into a handkerchief.

As much as I try to avoid it, the ugly cry has its place, especially in the grieving process.  Somewhere between depression and acceptance comes the ugly cry – the moment all of the emotions come rushing out in the inglorious process described above.  I have learned that the longer I put off having the ugly cry, the uglier life gets for everyone around me.  Repressing emotions generally just pushes them out somewhere else, and I get cranky and moody and snarky.  As much as I don’t want to be a weepy mess, it’s really necessary if I’m going to accept the pain and frustration and move past it.  I have also learned that for me the fewer witnesses, the better, including the dogs and usually even my husband.  I like to have my ugly cries alone where I can pour my heart out to God (he’s the only one who can understand what I’m saying at that point anyway) without anyone trying to plug up the fountain that was once my face.

I have also learned that my ugly cries tend to be self-pity parties.  If I blurt out all of my complaints to God at once in a nobody-likes-me-everybody-hates-me-guess-I’ll-go-eat-worms fashion, I will at some point in the tirade realize that I’m being ridiculous, I look ridiculous, and now my head hurts from all the ugly crying.  The world is not really going to end.  Realistically, the worst that I could imagine has happened, and I’ve survived to tell the tale.  I realize that this is just a single page in my life’s book, and the rest of the story is up to me.  I can wallow in the grief (which I did for a long, long time), or I can pick up the pieces and act on what I profess to believe.  The art of the ugly cry is the catharsis waiting at the end of the release of all that pent-up emotion, and, while the ugly cry is truly ugly, it’s a step forward in the healing process.

October 15th Memorial Service

October 15th is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day.  If you live in the Birmingham, Alabama area, I would like to invite you to a memorial service at Oak Mountain State Park (Bluejay Pavilion 10:30 am).  I won’t repeat everything I just added to the page, so look to your right and click on “October 15th Memorial Service” under the Pages tab.  I am also (I think) posting the publicity flyer at the end of this post, so please print it out and invite anyone you know who might be interested.  If I do it right, there will be both a PDF and a Word 2010 file.  I would love for anyone who reads this blog to come, whether you have experienced a pregnancy or infant loss or not.  You have been a tremendous support for me, and I would love for you to share in this special time of remembrance.  If nothing else, come later and bring a picnic lunch – we have the pavilion reserved for the whole day.

 

October 15th Flyer

October 15th Flyer (PDF)