Blog : Give Me Grace

Do you want to thrive?

In the process, we find his promise. It is a story of redemption…and grace. God uses our struggles to draw us to himself. He reveals a greater sense of his love. We walk away from the battle with wisdom from the journey poured on us like oil. Our very being saturated in a love soaked garment of praise. You just don’t make it through the battle without a greater sense of his love, a clear understanding of how this life, is all about the process. The promise is the fulfillment of his purpose in you. It’s there we begin to thrive.

How do we thrive when faced with infertility? What does it look like? I gathered a listing of infertility warriors who are doing just that. Most are women, like you, in the throes of battle. They fight bravely in the NOW of their infertility. Some have resolved their infertility by becoming parents, still others have chosen to fight the battle publicly though advocacy. All share the vital, redemptive, life changing words of story. They tell the story.

This is what it means to thrive.

first a resource –

Fertile Thoughts – so, before there were blogs, I began online friendships and connections at Fertile Thoughts. Some of the relationships continue today…over 12 years later. I found the site as a new adoptive parent and would go online to ask questions about my new mama struggles. I was concerned with attachment and had questions about adoptive nursing. I connected with women who got me. Women who wanted/ needed to express their feelings and share their stories in a community of women…like them. There is nothing like connection with your tribe to make any hardships you face …doable. I loved the community there and even though we’ve never met, consider Jamie Doffing, my friend forever.

I am loving Fertility for Colored Girls and it’s founder Rev. Stacey L. Edwards-Dunn.

Many want to know, why a separate organization for women of color?

here’s an answer from the site:

Research shows that among the 7.3 million women/couples in the United States, approximately 11.5% African American women compared to 7% of white women, experience a variety of infertility problems.

Unfortunately, even though these alarming rates of infertility among African-American women exist, studies show and Dr. Désirée McCarthy-Keith, a Reproductive Endocrinologist at Georgia Reproductive Specialist states that women of color utilize fertility services less often and seek medical care too late.

There are many reasons why African-American women fail to seek infertility care. The following are few examples:
Cost of Infertility Services, Access to Infertility Services
Lack of Education and Awareness, Shame and Fear
Lack of Health Care, Lack of Support, Lack of Finances
Culture, Limited Awareness of Treatment Options
Lack of Access to Treatment Options

This is a good God thing. Organizations like Fertility for Colored Girls offer a safe place for women of color to share their stories. Awareness, Advocacy and Education is essential to combating the issue of infertility among African-American Women.

Stay tuned for their Adoption Webinar on November 7th.

And a few others that inspire me…in no particular order

Natasha Metzler – http://natashametzler.com. The beautiful writing on this blog drew me in…now I’m a cheerleader for Natasha. She is the author of Pain Redeemed.

The Broken Brown Egg – another organization that speaks to the needs of women of color. straight talk and a lot of humor about infertility. Regina Townsend brings the goods on infertility awareness using her real life journey.

Wanza Leftwich – All faith. All the time. With Wanza you have to believe. Wanza is the author of Faith and Fertility and was one of my first twitter friends. She is also a motivational speaker and business builder.

A Royal Daughter – beautiful Christian lifestyle blog of an infertility warrior. Amanda is expecting her first baby. Yay!

Jennifer Kostick – Jennifer keeps me on my toes in the blogosphere. She beautifully represents Christ through a story of redemption after loss. You can get a free copy of her e-book Mercy Waits on her blog. Jen and I got to meet recently at Allume.

Marcy Hanson – Foster care advocate , adoptive mama and full time nurse…Marcy is on it. Marcy’s book No Maybe Baby is a available here.

Stay tuned for TheHeartSpa , a new blog coming soon by Resealia McKinney, my Incouragers community group co-leader at THRIVE (in)fertility

And the blog of infertility warrior Hysha Robinson Nesmith , Mrs. New York America 2013 – using her personal struggles with infertility as a platform, Hysha won the crown last year.

A power packed word…..

The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Those who are planted in the house of the Lord
Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall still bear fruit in old age;
They shall be fresh and flourishing,
To declare that the Lord is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. – Psalm 92: 12-15

More beautiful words…

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style” – Maya Angelou

“Surviving is important. Thriving is elegant.” ― Maya Angelou

And a prayer…

Infertility Prayer Day #30

You can catch up on earlier posts in this series by clicking here.