It's difficult for people to share during hard times in their lives. I understand, but have always struggled with this. In my experience, you often didn't have much choice to keep things to yourself. Family and friends always wanted to know what was going on, and it just seemed natural to share.
In the past few years I have been judged for being open about many experiences and struggles. I apologize if my honesty has offended people. I feel deeply that our lives are meant to be a testament of God's goodness, grace and forgiveness. How can I speak of God's love to others, in a society that demands proof, and not give my own experience? I just can't imagine that...
When I became pregnant in 2007, I was affected by a quote from Lorilee Craker's book, "When the belly button pops, the baby's done." It said, " Don't let the fear of what might happen dampen the joy and love... don't hold back your own love in an effort to protect your own heart." After that I had a deep understanding that God wanted me to trust in Him but also rejoice and find joy. I had joy and love during the pregnancy and when I miscarried I found joy in knowing I would see my child one day...
Yet at that time, I had other people mention to me their feelings on talking about early pregnancy and miscarriage. I actually had one family member say, "I would never tell people I'm expecting before 12 weeks. I think it's stupid to announce it so early." Can you believe that?!? What a great thing to say to a grieving woman... (severe sarcasm, in case you didn't know)
Since then I've wondered about telling people my experiences with pregnancy loss, grief, infertility, etc... And I realized that in those times God used other people's experiences to comfort me, and I can be bold enough to use my experiences to praise God and help others.
God has done great things in my life and isn't finished with me yet...
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