Fresh Air Blog

Dear God, Why Can’t I Have a Baby?

Posted by Cheryl on Sep 12, 2011 in Blog, Comfort, Guests | 65 comments

One in six couples suffer with infertility, feeling ostracized and alone. “Too make matters worse,” says Janet Thompson, “few churches offer support groups to counsel this large overlooked group.” After surgery for a ruptured ovarian cyst at age twenty-one and newly engaged, the doctor told Janet that her ovaries were cystic and looked like those of a 90-year-old woman. “Sorry, you’ll never be able to have children.” Three years into marriage, Janet was miraculously pregnant with her daughter Kim! Still, Janet couldn’t shake the worry that maybe Kim would have trouble getting pregnant too. Years later, her fears proved true. All of Kim’s infertility treatments failed. Meanwhile, Janet’s stepdaughter Shannon had also been trying to get pregnant for seven years. Janet watched both couples go through the same pain, frustration, and anguish she had experienced. “We comfort others with the comfort we ourselves have received.” Not one to waste her sorrows, Janet wrote, Dear God, Why Can’t I Have a Baby? A Companion Guide for Couples on the Infertility Journey. Both Kim’s and Shannon’s stories run through the book, along with forty-five other couples who also share their stories to comfort and encourage others on their infertility journey. “I wrote the book because I knew that couples longing for a child needed encouragement to trust in God in this path they never chose. The book and the couples who share remind us of God’s promises and presence. It gives an opportunity to explore His answers to our sorrowful ‘Whys?’” Janet also wrote Dear God, They Say It’s Cancer: A Companion Guide for Women on the Breast Cancer Journey. The book resulted from her own diagnosis of breast cancer and how she longed to have this kind of book on hand during her journey. Both books are a mentor, record keeper, journal, devotional, prayer guide, and a friend. They have a section she calls “Sanity Tools” to keep records in one place. Janet is currently writing the third in the series, Dear God, He’s Home! and welcomes your stories of life after retirement, medical disability, loss of a job, unemployment, home after military deployment, working out of the home—any circumstance that suddenly finds the husband home every day. Feel free to contact her at info@womantowomanmentoring.com and your story might end up in Janet’s book! Janet’s passion is mentoring: equipping and encouraging women to share what God has seen them...

A Word to the Dying

Posted by Cheryl on Feb 18, 2011 in Blog, Comfort, Guests | 0 comments

Cindy Finch Suffering from roller-coaster emotions? I wish I could tell you some sweet little words that would make it better. But I can’t. You are on a long, hard journey. But you are not alone. When you’re reduced to nothing but grit… and even that is diminishing, God promises to hold you in His tender care and stand tough on your behalf. Watch His light shine brightest in your darkness. To the Terminally Ill: Hold hands with God; He knows the way. Do everything you know to do; then leave the rest to the all-powerful One. Let Him choose your path. He will give you light enough for the step you’re on. He’s up all night. When you’re awake from your meds and worries about your family and future, tell Him about what’s on your mind. Fade to sleep knowing He’s thinking about you, listening, holding you ‘til morning. Don’t lose hope. You never know; He might be in the middle of solving some of your worries. When your brain replays some of the possible scenarios spoken by your doctors, don’t fill in the blanks with faith-blinding worry. Fill in the blanks with God’s truth instead. If doctors say you’re getting sicker, remind yourself that no matter what happens, God’s in your bod, and He is in control! There’s a rare and special peace that accompanies the one who is able to let go of the outcome and trust that “Father knows best.” If you’re afraid you’ll never get your life back, remind yourself that feelings aren’t facts. The One who sticks with you like glue will lead you through this mess. He has the map and He promises to direct you to His perfect will. This craziness didn’t take God by surprise. He knew it was coming, and He allowed it for reasons you can’t see ~ yet. God led the Psalmist, David through the valley of the shadow of death. God cooked him a meal before his enemies. He even gave him friends for the journey. Goodness and Mercy. Who has God assigned to your life? Turn your thoughts to them, looking beyond the arrows of depression and despair. God can restore peace to you as you move through this with Him. God can walk between you and your problems. Three ways to let God restore your peace: 1. The Bible says God sits enthroned in...

King of the Sewer

Posted by Cheryl on Feb 16, 2011 in Blog, Comfort, Guests | 15 comments

Crisis When my friend, Cindy Finch, was pregnant with her youngest son, Brandon, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. “You’d be dead in a few weeks if you didn’t come to see me,” her oncologist told her. When doctors gave Cindy the most aggressive cancer treatments available, they said, “they’ll either kill you or save you.” Cindy became sick beyond functioning; but by a miracle of God, the medicine worked! Five years into remission, Cindy was thrust in another test: The treatments had caused her to develop serious heart and lung failure. Open-heart surgery removed the damaged lining of her heart; two weeks later, they performed open-lung surgery to repair the lining of her lungs. A homeschool mom, Cindy was suddenly a heart/lung/cancer patient. We’re blessed to have Cindy with us today. Welcome Hi everybody. I can honestly tell you ~ cancer was both the worst and best thing that ever happened to me. God used it to change me from the inside out. With everything taken away ~ my appearance, strength, and mobility ~ I had to place everything in God’s hands. Losing control, I needed to trust that God knew best. He taught me to rely on His leadership. As Christians, we don’t get this when we stay safe in our comfortable church attendance and moral conformity. It’s only when we’re forced off road in some hectic, crazy situation without options that we finally see what we’re made of, what we’re not made of, and what God is and isn’t. For instance, He isn’t a vending machine where we put in a prayer and extract our desired answer. Jesus works His will for our good and His glory. I’ve learned to affectionately call Him “the King of the Sewer.” He’s in the midst of it. My suffering taught me He’s capable of bailing me out. I’d heard He could help me through, but only by living it did I KNOW that He was and is truly able. Because of my cancer and other calamities, God ultimately laid out a specific path for my life. Hetook me and my family to places we never would have been willing to go. The big vertical scar down the middle of my chest is a picture of how our family has been stretched and transformed from top to bottom. My body doesn’t function as well; we took huge...