How can you Deal with your Infertility Sorrows and Focus on Joy at Christmas?
The Christmas season is typically a time of ‘comfort and joy’ and year end festivities. But for some experiencing infertility, it may be a time of sorrow and joy due to their inability to have children or having suffered a miscarriage.
If sadness is a reality for you this season, let’s chat about how sorrow can be processed while we still focus on the light of Christ.
Remember the factors of contentment.
Before we discuss dealing with the mix of sorrow and joy, take a moment and review a summary of the last blog post on the Secret of Contentment. From the apostle Paul’s teaching, we gained the perspective of having a foundation of contentment regardless of our situation:
- God is in charge; He orchestrates everything in our lives.
- Knowing that God is in control, we can rejoice no matter what our circumstances are.
- God strengthens us to endure our hardships and has the power to help us overcome anything. We find contentment when we take our eyes off our problems and focus on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).
While we pray to grow in faith and experience contentment and joy as Paul did, our sorrow can not be tucked away. We need to deal with it.
We recognize our sorrows but do not allow them to consume our joy.
In a sermon I listened to recently, Pastor Jeromie Rand’s teaching reminded me that it’s possible to have two feelings at the same time— “there can be joy in the midst of sorrow. The pain of this world is real, but the joy we have in Christ is real too.” He is near.
Being fully human and fully God, Jesus Christ knew joy and suffering on earth. He expressed His love and joy toward those who honored Him and showed faith. Concurrently, He grieved with those who experienced pain and loss, and personally knew torture, persecution, and crucifixion. As a result, He understands our ups and downs as we call out to Him. He is able to empathize and equip us to endure our plight.
God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5 NIV
Because we have Jesus to intercede for us, we can surrender our pain to God and continually ask for His mercy, comfort, and emotional healing. Thank God He sent His Son here to help us!
What a blessing that we can fill our hearts with the joy of Jesus.
May we be reminded to focus on our Christmas list of joy every day of the year:
- Jesus loves us! He made us and meets our needs. He has a plan for us and allows us to have a relationship with Him. He has provided for us to be with Him eternally in heaven.
- We can talk to Him through prayer at any time. He answers our prayers according to His perfect will and timing. He knows what is best for us.
- He forgives us when we repent behaviors (sins) that offend Him.
- He honors every promise He makes to those who love Him: “Nothing is impossible with God“ Luke 1:37 He either orders the events in our lives to achieve His purpose for us or divinely intercedes. He offers healing of sin and is merciful and compassionate about healing us in body, mind, or spirit.
- He has given us a roadmap full of wisdom and knowledge in the Bible to guide us in truth and help us get to know Him and His character.
- He gifts us with the presence of the Holy Spirit and allows us to reflect His character in the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.
Our present from the Lord Jesus is to frame the reality of our sorrows with the joy of His presence. With Him alongside us, we can also maneuver our holiday time to give us comfort. As our spirit is uplifted with our list of joy and prayer, there are practical ways to help cushion hurt during this season mentioned in the article below.
You can pray now and ask God to help you manage sorrow and joy.
Thank you, Lord God for Your everlasting love and the gift of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ—who came to earth fully God and fully man to show us Your love, Your truth, and the way to follow You.
Help my husband and me to grow in our love for You, one another, and those around us. Prompt us to spend time with You in prayer and worship. Aid us in surrendering our sorrows to You, while we continue to engage the joy of who You are and what You do for us.
We claim the instruction in Philippians 4:6-9 to not be anxious about anything but, having a heart of thanksgiving, to present our sadness to You, and fill our minds with God-centered words:
“…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable –if anything is excellent or praiseworthy…”
Equip us to spread the word about Your great Love, Your kingdom, and eternal life. Help us spot ways to share Your kindness with those in need wherever we go. We ask all this in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Moving forward
Ask yourself:
What are my biggest fears, worries, and sorrows about my infertility journey? Have I surrendered these issues to Jesus?
After you have considered these questions, read the “4-steps to Overcoming Your Infertility Fears and Worries” guide available to you on this site.
Consider this:
Think about writing down your sorrows and joys, then give them all to Jesus in prayer. He loves to hear every care and every thanksgiving you have.
Take a look at this article on dealing with infertility and pregnancy loss durng the holidays, which suggests some practical tips for coping.
Who do you know that might benefit from this post? Please share it.
Have a joyful Christmas season that brings glory to God!
With the peace of Jesus,
Kimberly
P.S. You won’t want to miss the following posts that will equip you for your journey:
- What is the Secret of Contentment during Christmas (and beyond)?
- What are you Feeding your Mind and Heart at Thanksgiving?
- When does Adoption Become a Possible Path to Building a Family?
- What Daily Devotion Works Best to Inspire your Time with God?
- Where to Find Peace when Experiencing Miscarriage (Part 2)
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