Thursday, May 27, 2010

An Answer to Prayer?

Before I really get into my post, I think I need to provide a few explanations.

First, as I have written before, I would consider DH and me to be pretty religious. We have been praying for a long time to have a baby, and recently our prayers have shifted to instead asking for guidance as to what we should do...adopt, keep trying, IVF, etc. I know that not everyone feels this way, but I firmly believe that God answers our prayers and guides us - sometimes he uses other people/events as instruments, but it does happen.

Second, in my church we have a program called visiting teaching. How it works is basically each woman in the ward (congregation) is paired up with another woman. As a pair, you are assigned to visit 2-3 women in the ward each month. The visit generally consists of a brief spiritual message and then just visiting with each other. You visit the same women each month, so the intent is that you build a relationship and then the women that you visit could ask you for help if they needed it and just have someone in the neighborhood who is their friend.

Anyway, last night I went visiting teaching with my partner, J. We had just been assigned a new lady to visit named E. Neither of us had met her before, so we spent some time just chatting and getting to know each other better. We gave her a quick message on trials, and as we were wrapping things up, she said "I know that I'm not your visiting teacher, but do either of you have any trials you are going through?" J said not really, and I hesitated a moment before deciding to just put it out there. So, I said that DH and I had been trying to have kids for a while and are at a crossroads of where we go from here. E then said that during our lesson, she kept having this strong impression that she should ask me if we were struggling with having kids and had considered adoption. She didn't want to just come out and ask if we were dealing with IF, but really felt strongly about asking. E then went on to say that she and her husband have dealt with IF and they adopted a son together. She shared a lot about what they went through and what their experiences were.

I thought it was interesting that E would feel impressed to ask me about IF and to tell me about adoption, especially when we hadn't known each other for more than 10 minutes. When I got home, I told DH about it and said it was interesting how here I am praying to know what to do, and in less than a week, I have had two different people tell me that they feel impressed to talk to me about adoption, how it is such an amazing experience, and how it is just as good as having biological children. I told DH that I know he is still kind of coming around to the idea, but that it just cemented in my mind that I think this will probably be the right path for us. When I think about us adopting a baby, I feel so hopeful and excited. I just want to get things moving!

6 comments:

  1. Oh Girl...I'm closely sticking by to hear more on your decision. I know it's something that must be given lots of thought and I can't wait to hear more about your process. I think adoption is so beautiful and we just attended our second seminar. We hope to create our family through not only by biological but through adoption as well.

    Wishing you all the best as you find your path.

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  2. I'm a firm believer that if we pay attention information is always coming our way. A great example of this was in the book "The Celestial Prophecy" by James Redfield. It is a fiction book but it has a great handle on this type of thinking.
    Good Luck!

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  3. Buddhist have the same thing - we visit with fellow members to chant, share guidance and just chat. I think it's no coincidence that people have felt compelled to share their experiences with you. I think, like me, when you have suffered through infertility, it feels amazing to just finally bring a child home. Mind you, adoption does not cure infertility and there are many, many emotions you can experience if you decide adoption is something you'd like to do. People just want to ease your suffering and share happiness.

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  4. This is such a moving post. I hope you find every answer you are looking for.

    Happy ICLW(#64)

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  5. I'm praying that God gives you the answers to your prayers soon. I'm glad that E talked to you.

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  6. Thank you for sharing this experience. I am a believer too and I pray you have the wisdom and direction to make the right choice. Much Love to you hon!

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