Surely you, like me, have heard someone say, in different contexts: “What matters is your happiness!?Or ask, “Are you happy, ” as if it were a prerequisite for us to know that what we do is really Prerogative is always our happiness. Are we happy? Are we going to go on, unhappy?We’d better stop. And this imperative of happiness at all costs has deeply marked our way of life and our world view. We buy, count, think, act and speak in the service of our happiness, even without realizing that it is for him that we do all these things. The truth is that if we are a little more distracted, we are completely removed from God’s will for us and the purpose for which we are here.
Anyway, what does this have to do with the problem of infertility, is it wrong to want to get pregnant?Isn’t that God’s plan for us, too?Obviously, this isn’t bad. It would be surprising if we did not want to have children, because we know the value of the family to God. This is not the question, because in Philippians 2:13 the Apostle Paul tells us: “For God is the one who works in you both to love and to do so, according to his good will. “The fact is that God, by his sovereignty and grace, does not fulfill all our desires, even if they are good. At first, one is tempted to ask, almost instinctively:?For what?Now, if our desires are good, why does God not allow us to fulfill them?, this is where suffering comes in, protagonist of our text today.
- While it is wonderful to enjoy the pleasures of happiness.
- It lacks some useful heart-cutting skills: suffering hurts.
- Hurts.
- Tears the heart.
- Clouds our vision.
- Removes our land; However.
- He also cuts off our being and turns our gaze to the One who has bitterly endured the punishment that peace brings us.
On May 18, 2016, we were anxious in the waiting room of a clinic in Fortaleza. Our turn would come soon. The exams in our hands, a fearful heart and, at the same time, calm. We thought, “Everything will be fine !? (This has been said several times, hasn’t it?) The doctor’s assistant walked into the room alone, with a copy of our exam, spent a few minutes there, and finally came out of the room. room. Our turn had come. At first, that initial conversation with the doctor we trust always turns us on. And, like any good doctor, did he begin to explain? and explain? and explain? and? exchange a few glances? and little Little by little the apprehension seized us. It was not going to end well. At some point in the conversation, with each word the doctor said, a tear fell from my eyes. And from there, no. Understand a word? the heart seemed about to explode. Finally, we left with the sad news: only in vitro fertilization was good for us. We had already talked about that. It would not be our choice at that time. We finally left the clinic, sorry. But, still on the sidewalk , we kissed, accomplices of a pain that did not fit with no us, and that’s when my eyes were wet and Sam said a prayer that ushered in a new stage in our life: thanked the Lord. The owner of life was there, right there, in those tears. However, it is not human results that have kept us from getting pregnant. It was just the Lord. He, in his sovereignty and goodness, afflicted us. We knew it there. We know that today. It didn’t bring me happiness or make me smile. But we certainly had a safe haven in the storm. I cried the whole trip from the clinic to my mother-in-law’s house. And had it not been for the long, warm embrace of a precious friend, she would have cried uncontrollably at the foot of the bed. “How could we (soon we!), Who dream so much of a big family, live that? What about our family travel plans, to practice homeschooling, to teach catechism in our home services? Something is wrong there! Couldn’t that happen? Although all these thoughts were mixed in my mind with the certainties that I had in the Lord, thank God, Sam was still sober and confident, and he managed to get me to see the situation correctly: I needed to look at God.
Today, almost two years after my infertility diagnosis, as I write, a beautiful baby of almost 6 months is sleeping peacefully in my room. Yes, God had mercy on us and heard our cry! He took us out of the desert and into calm waters. But I can’t help but thank you for every long and difficult day of suffering, lived and savored with all your bitterness. Although this pain does not overwhelm me today, I praise God for the privilege of suffering in his presence. Suffering, as I mentioned, has abilities that we cannot ignore. We must not flee from this reality, although many people choose to escape from pain, hide in it, defend themselves against it and even replace it with some palliative capable of superficially neutralizing it. What they don’t know is that suffering in Christ is good. How much is lost with the flight of pain! For the true Christian, suffering must be faced at the foot of the cross, because through it our heart is perfected and we draw closer to God. In addition, suffering also makes us sensitive to the pain of others. People who have not felt the pain of infertility tend not to feel empathy for those facing the problem. In Ecclesiastes 7: 3, the Word of God tells us: “Sadness is better than laughter, because the sadness of the face improves the heart. ” In Psalm 126 we find the beautiful verses 5 and 6: “He who sows with tears will reap with joy. He who walks and cries, sowing, will return with joy, bringing his boots. My wish is that our tears rule a deep intimacy with the Eternal and Blessed Lord, owner of life! And as for the packages, let them be deep convictions of his goodness, his mercy and his eternal and unchanging love for us.
May you, like me, take advantage of this waiting time to grow like never before in the knowledge of the Most High! And if God gives you children, may you teach them the value of suffering, at the foot of the cross, so that they never reject the blessings that come to us in times of storm, but if he does not grant you children, may your eyes remain full of hope and your heart beat for the endless joy of the Eternal Home with our Jesus.
God bless you! Gloria Soli Deo!