Is there a reason for this pain, why can’t it just end, why the disappointment, discomfort and the long wait.
These are questions we have all asked ourselves in times of great suffering.
Our pain leaves us with more questions than answers. How do you carry on living in the mist of great pain? Disappointment drains us of strength.
Christ suffered for us so that we can have great strength and hope in our pain.
Christ was born to carry not just our sins but our pain, wounded, bruised and hung on the cross he suffered great pain, Just for us.
He stood in our place, where we would have been condemned, he was condemned.
Where we would have been shamed, He was shamed.
Where fear lingers he brought release, And in this season of Christmas we have peace in our hearts because we know that there will be purpose in our pain.
This knowledge gives us strength as we wait for his perfect plan, we live in hope because hope in him doesn’t bring shame.
So are you tired of waiting, look to the the manger then the cross, then cling to his grace which he gave when he rose again.
What does peace look like? I asked the kids at Sunday school.
Their answers were surprising and came in quick succession.
One replied: when I don’t have any fears. another, when I am happy, sleeping and playing, holiday brings peace. when I lie down and there is no sound.
But one child replied: When God calms the storm.
That stopped me in my track. This Child remembered the story of Jesus and the storm. When His disciples were worried about drowning and Jesus spoke bringing calm to the waves and seas.
The various replies can be woven into this one statement: When God calms the storm.
Certainly when Jesus said peace be still there was calm, the waves ceased in obedience to Him.
I wonder, what do you need to be cam in your life today? Your heart might be torn from endless wait in various places at various time.
14 day wait or two weeks wait, for the change in the pregnancy test stick. From the results of a recent surgery.
None of these wait brings peace, we are often anxious for what’s to comes or what might not be.
In this season of Advent, ask God to bring His peace into your heart whatever the situation and he will.
He will calm your storms, because that what he does. He bring peace to every situation. All you need to do is ask Him.
My best friends birthday was approaching, It was a significant milestone. I remembered planning ahead trying to figure out what we’re going to do for her.
I contacted her to find out what she had planned, I persisted in asking her until she said “I won’t be having any celebration”.
I sort of expected it because I’ve known for over 20 years and I have never celebrated a birthday with her or celebrated her birthday. I knew her reasons. However, I did not think that such a milestone would go uncelebrated.
She’s single and not currently in a relationship, she’s approaching the age where having children is considered risky, she’s premenopausal. She is in between jobs and between homes.
The last few years have been really difficult for her having lost her dad, which means both parents will not be around when and if she eventually gets married and have children.
Lack of success and achievement in certain areas of our lives, leaves us disappointed and robbed.
You too may be asking yourself as Christmas approaches, what’s there to celebrate?
Our lives are measured by our achievements, the absence of which deemed us failures.
There is a perceived natural progression of ones life, grow up, go to school, meet your partner, graduate, get married, have children and live happily ever after.
As I’ve come to know, life isn’t always a straight line from A to Z. Life will take you from N to B and, from S to W and back again from V to K.
Live doesn’t give you what you order, God does. Life doesn’t give you what you expect, faith in God does. Life doesn’t give you what you think you should have, trust and hope in God does.
And as a result of not getting to those milestones we decide what, when to celebrate and how to celebrate.
Celebration is not about things. We celebrate because we look inside ourselves and we know that regardless of where we are and how far we still have to go, we have a reason to be thankful because a lot of people did not get as far as we have come.
We are thankful because against all odds, are still standing. we reflect on the good we have in our lives.
I want to encourage you today, If you find yourself void of joy, void of any enthusiasm to celebrate let the births of Christ inspire you.
What is there to celebrate?
For starters, your health, Your amazing support group, The families in your life. For the strength to keep going, your nieces and nephews, for your job.
Count your blessings, and let your focus well on God’s goodness, not on the absence of should have been.
Our cup is not half empty but half full.
This Christmas rejoice in the fullness of joy that Christ brought when he came into our world. This is why we celebrate.
How often have you wondered what’s going on in your life, how did I get here? How am I going to get out of it? How will it all turn out?
It is often the case, going through infertility leaves us with countless questions.
There’s also someone who wondered about what was going on in her life.
Mary was a little girl from a little village she was betrothed to be married and she was suddenly pregnant.
I imagine many a night Mary ponded what was going on with her? She wondered about her future even though the Angel told her she was carrying the saviour, I imagine in a quietness of her heart,
She had to still process it all. She must have faced doubt even as she progressed in her pregnancy
I imagine she was plagued with so many questions. I don’t think the angels kept coming to reassure her, that the child she was carrying is actually the saviour. There were no account of angels coming month after month to encourage her. Mary trusted God and held him to that promise.
I imagine Mary processed what was going on as she looked at her changing body day and night, contended with knowing and questioning looks from those around her. I imagine even Jospeh’s family may have wondered and she may have wondered as well what on earth do they think happened..
Yes, infertility and what Mary experienced are worlds apart, but nevertheless there are some lessons to draw from Mary’s experience:
Have you pondered what’s going on? Worried about knowing looks, about your aging body? Worried about what the future holds and how you will deal with it?
As I have frequently said in this place we don’t know the future, we don’t know how our story will end, all we can do is hold onto God’s promises.
Has he told you anything? Ponder over them. Has he promised you something? Ponder over it and trust Him completely With your future.
Just like Mary let your soul Him for his wonderful promise which will be fulfilled in your life.
Frozen eggs beats fertility treatment for women. according to post in Futility today.
The number of US women having children at older ages has been increasing for three decades, with evidence that the trend will continue. Birth rates have declined for women in their 20s and jumped for women in their late 30s and early 40s, according to the US Census Bureau. The average age at first birth has risen from 19 years old in 1984 to 30 years old in 2021 and is higher in many metropolitan areas.
If for you the year holds so much promises on the 1st of January 2022 and now you look forward with trepidation because of a current situation, a news you receive, a disappointing diagnosis,
I want to encourage you to hold on and have faith.
Faith to believe when the way is rough.
Faith to hang on when the going is tough.
Faith will pull you through.
Faith will help you glimpse a way out that will comfort you and give you strength to carry on.
Here we are, the last day of 2021. We were given 375 days, but not everyone made it to the end.
My prayer at the start of 2021 was for protection, to remain in health and strength. Looking back I can see that my prayers were answered. Of course I asked for other blessings, but I have come to know that lasting blessings are worth more than material wealth or comfort.
As you look back over the year, what blessings stand out to you?
What battles did you overcome? Where there small mile stones you celebrated?
We sometimes over look some blessings because they don’t seem to come front and centre. compared to the big things we asked for.
I get it. For years having a child of my own was front and centre for me as well, it was my number one prayer at the beginning and end of each year.
At some point, I yielded my expectations, dreams and hope to God. I prayed for strength and he gave me strength to continue to expect, I prayed for wisdom and he directed my steps to the right places, he placed good friends in my path a support system through trying times.
These blessings were not front and centre non did they featured in my prayer list at the beginning of the year, but taking stock at the time, they were answers to prayers.
So as you look back, to 2021. Give thanks for those who helped you on this journey, the spouse/partner who stayed and support you. The Holy Spirits leading and the strength to continue and hope on into 2022.
Hope is defined by Webster: “to desire with expectation of fulfil.” Continue to hope in 2022, but give hope wings, infuse your hope with faith in the God who makes all things possible.
Because hope expects, faith believes and receives.
The Birth of Christ brought profound joy as well as grim news of a saviour who would die and rescue the world.
Mary felt Joy for Her saviour and child was born. But she also knew that he will be opposed for he’s appointed for the rise and fall of many. Luke 2.34-35.
I imagined she was sad/thorn because of the impending danger he faced early and later years in life.
Yes, Christmas morning brought both joy and sadness. And as the years rolled by Mary watched her baby the saviour slept, with teary eyes, she knew the holy one of Israel would pay for the sins of the world.
So why she was happy at his birth. The long awaited arrival of the saviour meant joy for Many, but for Mary his arrival ended her peace. Her heart felt pain each time he went out of the house.
Every time he left the house, She anticipated, she wondered at every knock, every greeting, her heart skipped a beat. Has the time come?
So for you Christmas morning may mean so many things it maybe mixed with Joy and happiness, you are here still standing, a loving partner, family and friends, a job, and hope for the future.
Or you may have lost your marriages, had another miscarriage, loss a child, received the dreaded news of blocked tubes, ageing eggs, No job, no funds. Yes Christmas came, but your reality is one of fear for the future.
On this Christmas day, let your heart be quiet and still, be reassured that you are His priced possession.
Your celebration maybe with gratitude, joy, dissatisfaction or disappointment. Just know that “you are His and He is yours”.
Christmas is more than just physical gifts it is an eternal gift of Hope, Joy, deep contentment in knowing that He who has promised will be faithful as He said:
“I will never leave you, nor will I forsake you”.That’s the true gift of ChristmasHis abiding presence with us, which is our reassuring Hope.
Today we’re going to look at BLESSINGS IN WAITING.
I think trying or waiting for a child, child loss due to miscarriage or death is one of the most terrible experiences in anyones life.
I had two miscarriages, and sometimes I wonder what my unborn children would have looked like. Had they survived what ages will they be now. I have Come to terms with these loss, but I still wonder.
Anna is an example of a woman who yearned for a baby, she cried because she felt helpless at the delays, she saw her mates bearing children she saw how they relate with those children, she observed it all, day in and day out year in and out.
Elizabeth was also an example of one who waited. These blessings in waiting causes pain, we become entangled in the daily reality of the delay that we live in.
Everyone at one time or the other have experienced joy from having their prayers answered.
Have you ever waited for something, and got it?That desire was a blessing in waiting.
There was a time you waited for a job, for mortgage, for a life partner, for financial breakthrough. They were all blessings in waiting at one time or another.
When you look back, can you see that right now what you are waiting for may also come to pass, but in God’s own time and manner he chooses?
Let’s just pause and look back at those blessings in waiting which you now enjoy. I know how delays can lead us into a place of deep dissatisfaction inpatience and hopelessness.
I once had no children and spent days giving myself shots of IVF Injections, had 2 miscarriages from natural conceptions. But draw strength from those blessings in waiting that you now enjoy.
How do you explain that after eight years of waiting? Today, those blessings in waiting are my reality. I am living and enjoying my beautiful kids but I’m still waiting I’m waiting for a healing.
I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis from an early age. It is under control now due to a course of several potent medications.
While enjoying my blessings of children, I draw strength from the fact that the God who did that for me can also fulfil his promise of healing in my life.
I want you to draw strength from your current blessings while you wait for those yet to come.
Look at that wait and compare all the benefits you are enjoying right now and encourage yourself, if he did it before he would do it again.
Little Drops Of Hope 