IS IT WORTH IT?…………OFCOURSE IT IS!!!!!

Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.
Children born to a young man are like sharp arrows in a warrior’s hand
Psalm 127: 3 & 4

"HOPE MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE"

I was reading a blog on my reading list the other day and the author mentioned that someone was questioning the fact, if it is worth it, after struggling with infertility and having a baby. The author of the blog, who had her brush with infertility as well, seemed quite taken aback and I was too and could even go further to say that she is a little bit ungrateful.

Her reason for thinking this surrounds the fact that she complains of being tired all the time from sleep deprivation, resulting in bags under her eyes, depression among other issues that she is facing, following the birth of her baby.

I hit the rewind button and played back my own experience in this regard, and could clearly see what could have driven her to b asking this question. I had my son through C-section and when I awoke from surgery and realized that I could not move, I immediately thought, wow, this is sure not going to work. How am I supposed to be able to take care of a helpless infant in this condition? Soon after my caregivers were telling me that I had to try and move sooner than later, so that I can begin to care for my baby. I thought to myself, are these people serious, does any of them even know the pain associated with a C-section. How am I going to take care of someone when I need someone to take care of me? It was very difficult to say the least, and it sure did not end there.

When we took our son home, we wondered when he would ever sleep through the night. We swaddle him, we fed him, we did everything we could to make him comfortable but he would still wake up every hour on the hour and very soon the bags under my eyes were big enough to become our baby’s diaper bags. I thought to myself, why did all these people who profess to be my friends and those who are my family did not tell me all that there was to expect? Why did they hide some details from me?

No one told me that I would be anxious and irritable and that my dear husband would be the one that this is taken out on. (He is a darling though, because he took it all so humbly and this is one of the reasons I love him so much). Then one day, it became clear to me. Not because I had struggled with infertility for so long would I have a easier task of taking care of a newborn. All parents go through this initially, until the baby settles into life outside of the womb, that they have been used to for all these months. No wonder some go past their due dates, because obviously they are very comfortable in there.

All that I am saying is, I could easily have asked the same question that this person asked, ‘is it worth it?’ and I am pretty sure, the thought must have crossed my mind during my most vulnerable moments, but I certainly did not want to anger God by letting him feel that I was ungrateful. It soon became clear to me though, every time I held my son in my arms and realized that it is not a dream, he is actually there, every time he looked into my eyes and I looked into his and for the fact that I had triumphed over more than a decade long of struggling with infertility, how could it be anything else but worth it?

I do hope this person gets a chance soon to experience these moments, to realize that she is indeed privileged and blessed to have overcome infertility, because so many are still struggling and so many still might not even hold a baby of their own in their arms. I sure hope she realizes soon how worth it all her struggles with infertility were and I do hope that I am encouraging those of you who might find yourself asking this question soon.

Be encouraged therefore, and until next time, keep clinging to hope.