I never fit in with church culture because I didn’t have children. All the “little mommies” could talk about was their children, and I could never relate to them and I didn’t even exist in their world of packing lunches, wiping noses, and taking kids to soccer. So infertility made me an outsider in the church world.
I was listening to a group discussion of infertility, adoption, and the ways women are expected to conform within the church and it really set something off in me.
There’s more than one way to be a woman of faith! Our sole job in life IS NOT having babies – that is not a one-size-fits-all approach to being a woman! We have worth and value outside of motherhood. Someone needs to hear this today. EVEN IF YOU DON’T FIT THE MOLD – you have value! And perhaps the mold really just wasn’t that helpful for many people. And maybe we can be respectful of the many ways God calls women to live, be, and do in this world. There’s a vast wealth of what it means to be a woman, and we need Holy Spirit to guide us in the path that is right for us.
God bless you in your journey! Sending you so much love. Please know that whatever path your life has taken, I trust that you’ve known the path that is right for you better than anyone. God bless you and keep you!
Carmen Shenk 