From How to Survive Mother's Day (Top Ten List)...

10. Lean on your faith.

When you are in pain is the perfect time to lean on your faith. Faith helps you to see a bigger picture and to find value and purpose in your struggles. I do not believe that God “causes” the painful things that happen in our lives. (I definitely do not believe that I was “divinely sterilized” for some greater purpose.) Instead, faith helps us to make lemonade out of the lemons that life throws our way.

For example, my 4-1/2 year period of wanting desperately to become a mother was one of the most painful times in my life. I do not believe that God “caused” my infertility or the long wait to be matched with a placing mother. Instead, I believe that God brought a lot of good out of these experiences. If I had not been infertile, I would not be my son’s mother today. I would not have the experience to blog on the topic of “Hoping to Adopt.” I would not have founded an infertility support group. I would not have many of my closest friends in my life because I met them through our children. If I had conceived when I planned to become a mother, my child would be several years older, so I never would have met many of the people in my life who are very dear to me. Many of the things that are great in my life today were borne out of the delay in my becoming a parent. I have made a lot of really good lemonade out of my infertility lemons.

My faith was greatly strengthened throughout my quest to become a mother. God was the one “person” who was always there for me, even when I was crying into my pillow at 3:00 a.m. I dug into the Bible, seeking passages that would provide me comfort. I held onto the hope that today’s no meant a better yes tomorrow. When I finally became a mother, I arrived in that place with a much deeper faith.

Your faith can be a rock for you as you struggle, and it can help you find meaning in circumstances that appear to have no meaning. Your faith can turn your focus to a bigger picture instead of your day-to-day pain. There is a reason that generations of people continue to hold onto their faith, despite persecution and scientific advancement. Faith meets a need inside of ourselves that runs very deep, and faith can be a powerful ally in surviving the hard times.

Related Topics:

• Top Ten List: Surviving Mother’s Day



• Surviving Mother’s Day Series


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• Mother's Day Hard All Around