I love the story of Hannah in the Bible. (I Samuel 1)

Barren, she went to the temple and poured her heart out before God.

I have been there. On my knees before God, begging and pleading with Him for this to be the month, for this treatment to be the one that results in pregnancy.

I can relate with her pain.

Infertility is an emotional pain that changes you as a person.

Today, my heart remembers that pain – that bitterness of soul when you long for something you have absolutely no control of gaining access to.

Every negative pregnancy test I saw left me wondering what was going to happen.

Would I ever experience the joy of motherhood?

God answered my heart cries in a way I didn’t see coming at all.

The best piece of advice I can give to someone who is experiencing this pain today is to cling to the promise of God found in Jeremiah 29:11. God has plans for us. Plans that will prosper us and bring us hope and a future.

I clung to that truth with every fiber of my being as those negative pregnancy tests continued to pile up month after month.

I clung to that as I lay on the examination table on the day I received the news that pregnancy was very unlikely for me.

I clung to that as we started our adoption journey, which was both exciting and terrifying all at the same time.

I clung to that as we awaited the birth of Little Bug and waited for her to officially become our daughter.

I clung to that 18 months later when we were told Little Bug’s birth mother was pregnant again and wanted to place with us…but then she deceived us and there really was no baby.

And I clung to that when we officially did begin our journey to #2 and walked the adoption path again, which lead us to our second daughter, Sweet Pea.

Sometimes, life’s circumstances bring us to a place where we have a choice to make: are we going to take matters into our own hands or are we going to choose to believe God has a plan and purpose?

Today, I pray if you find yourself in a battle against infertility, you will cling to this truth.

It’s hard to see today, I know, but if you believe with all your heart that God will make something beautiful of the pain and disappointment you are experiencing today, He will.

He will bless you more than you can imagine.

- Elaine