Ep. 47: Thanksgiving for Fertility
Welcome back to the Woven Well Podcast! Today, I am thankful. It’s a good time to be thankful. Thanksgiving is one of my absolute favorite holidays. I love the opportunity for family to gather together; I love the warmth that fills the home from ovens cooking and family talking; I love the Macy’s day parade on in the background; I love eating all your favorite things at whatever time of day the cooking is finished; I love the leftovers later that day or the next. But maybe the greatest gift Thanksgiving gives us is a reminder to stop, reflect, and give thanks.
My grandmother used to have us all stand in a circle and each say what we were grateful for before we would sit down to pray and eat our feast. As a teenager, I found this kind of corny. But now that I’m older, I think it’s wise.
We have a tendency to run so fast through life, always looking for the next phase, the next accomplishment, the next milestone. I need to finish my grad program so I can work in my field, I need to date a lot so I can find my spouse, I need to decide where I’m going to move next, what I’m going to do next, on and on and on.
Thanksgiving gives us a space to stop and reflect on what we’re thankful for right now. In this moment.
For us at Woven, we’re especially interested in reflecting on what we’re thankful for regarding fertility.
We asked our Instagram community at @wovenfertility what they’re thankful for and these are some of the responses:
Meeting other women who care about the same fertility issues I do, especially how faith plays a part
The health insurance that includes fertility coverage
Starting fresh with my personal relationship with my body and health
The education through Creighton to know what is going on in my body and cycle
The ability to have ownership of my body - understanding my body
Learning so much about how my fertility affects my health and my health affects my fertility
I’m thankful that it’s teaching me to truly love and nourish my body
The blood sugar workshop coming at the perfect time in my health journey
Hearing for the first time what I knew to be true deep down all along - my fertility & my health matter when I’m single or not trying to get pregnant, not just when I am ready to get pregnant
Understanding my body better
Learning that there’s a legit way to avoid pregnancy besides birth control
I love each of these responses because I have the special privilege of knowing most of those who submitted pretty well. I know their stories and their fertility goals. I know that some of the ladies who expressed the most thankfulness are those who some would say are struggling the most in their fertility journey.
But that’s the point, isn’t it? We aren’t just grateful for success at the end of the journey. We are saying together that it’s important to pause right where we are - wherever we are in our journey - to take stock of the beauty and the gift, and be thankful.
There will always feel like there are things that could be better, especially in the world of fertility. You could have cycles that don’t look the way you want, hormones that won’t seem to get into range. You may be struggling to grow your family or dealing with an unplanned pregnancy. You may struggle with loving your body or not be in a good place with intimacy in your marriage.
But there is always good to be seen, too.
Think about your own fertility journey right now. What good is there?
What has surprised and delighted you?
What was the last good news you got from your doctor, or your practitioner?
What’s going well with your health or your Creighton learning?
What was the last special moment you shared with your spouse?
Praise God for each of those things!
There will always be struggles and challenges. Always. But there’s always beauty to be seen and appreciated, too. Even when it may feel hard to find it.
If you find that you’re especially struggling to love your body when it feels broken, I want to recommend our previous episode 28 called “when your body feels broken” - it’ll be linked in the show notes.
If you’re struggling to connect with your spouse as you use a system of natural family planning, we have episodes for that, too: episode 18 nurturing intimacy while practicing NFP and beyond and episode 7, 5 conversations for couples practicing NFP.
Maybe you’re too overwhelmed by fear or anxiety to be able to feel thankful. You’re not alone! We talk about this frequently at Woven, and I encourage you to get access to our recent workshop on Fear of Getting Pregnant or listen to our podcast episodes 14 and 15 on navigating your biggest fertility fears.
We want to be a resource for you, no matter your fertility journey. And while we help you walk through the hard stuff, I pray we point you toward the good and true and beautiful, too.
You are made with beauty and intention. You were designed by God with purpose and craftsmanship. God has good things in store for you, even in your fertility.
That’s what I’m thankful for this week - that God cares so much for us. That God designed our bodies and our fertility. That God is invested in our health and our lives. That God cares for our marriages and our children. I am so grateful that our fertility is not up to us, alone.
Thanks for making us a part of your weekly routine. We’re keeping this week short so you can get some extra leftovers, catch the one-day sales, and spend more time with your family. But we appreciate you listening now, and each week, as we continue to explore together what it means to be woven well.