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Natasha Metzler

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unmasking infertility

Unmasking Infertility

She had twins. Beautiful little girls with tiny fingers and velvety skin. There was a time when she thought motherhood was forever lost to her and now daughters number 3 and 4 have joined the family.

I ache with the glory of it. God redeems and here is proof. Shimmering, exploding evidence of grace.

unmasking infertilityHolding the tiny bundles, I couldn’t help but remember almost eight years ago now, when news of another set of twins twisted my stomach. I sat alone and ached in pain at my sister-in-law’s ultrasound pictures. I cried at the feet of my God and said, Why does she receive the things I long for? 

His answer shook me to the core. I stared at the water and shivers danced my spine. The words were gentle, like a soft wave on the sand, and they reshaped me fully. “Would you rather I take her gift and give it to you?”

I recoiled at the picture of my selfish heart painted plain.

Never. I whispered and let the rocks fall from my hands. Ripples spread out to sea and something deep in me began to heal.

I will not yearn and reach for other’s stories. My brother’s twins were part of his redemption, not mine.

Then in Haiti. It was twin babies that were tossed into my arms. Malnourished, dirty babies. The mother, young and flippant, said to me, “Take them, I don’t need them.” I wanted to pull them tight to myself. I wanted to shake her silly. Instead, I gently washed and kissed seven-month -babies who were the size of newborns.

I wanted them to be the redemption of my pain. These beautiful children with brown eyes that lost their glaze and began to sparkle as their faces stretched into smiles over warm bottles of formula. But then I looked up at their father, standing there, now without a wife, offering his children not because he did not love them but because he did.

Before we left, when he offered them one last time, I turned the little boy in my arms to face him. “Look,” I said quietly, still aching but sure, “he knows you. He loves you. You are his papa.” As if on cue, the baby clapped his hands and smiled. “I could take him away but he would miss you. He needs you to be his father.”

The young man dripped tears and wrapped his son tight in his arms. He reached for his daughter and my husband let her go.

unmasking infertilityI will not reach and yearn for other’s stories. The babies were part of their father’s redemption, not mine. They were the means to make him stand tall and work hard. God was using them to mold and shape him into a father worth having.

I ache with the glory of it. For my brother. For this Haitian man. And now for my friend as well.

These twins are part of her story. And I will not long for her redemption– but I will delight in it with her. She bore and birthed two babies and I kiss them and squeeze their soft little toes and rejoice in a God who redeems every taste of sorrow.

And me? Can you not look back and see? God is still reshaping me. Unmasking the lies of infertility. Giving me glimpses of glory. And that, in itself, is redemption. 

I am in awe. And I wait in anticipation. God paints glorious masterpieces. The scarlet cord of redemption runs straight through history. And I trust that it will forever run through my life. 

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Comments

  1. Ally | A Home Called Shalom says

    July 7, 2015 at 6:24 pm

    Oh, oh my.

    This post touched a dark, hidden part of me today. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  2. Alexis says

    July 7, 2015 at 4:40 pm

    Wow. This is just so beautiful and so so good. I can so relate to those feelings. After three years of trying I can admit that more often than I should I’ve asked God “why them and not me?” But I know that God is always faithful and hope does not disappoint. God isn’t finished with our stories yet — beautiful, redemptive stories that are designed just for us.

    Reply
  3. Kim says

    January 23, 2013 at 2:13 pm

    Thanks for this post. As a woman who experienced a miscarriage as my first pregnancy and an adoptive mom I know the pain of longing for a child. However God showed me it’s not a child that would make my world whole. I also appreciate the way the situation was handled with the Haitian father. Too many families treat the birth family as a means to an end and don’t realize the hurt involved. Oh how God continuously works on our hearts!

    Reply
    • Natasha Metzler says

      January 23, 2013 at 2:26 pm

      Oh, Kim-
      Amen and amen. It is not a child that makes us whole.
      It is Him and only ever can be Him.
      Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply
  4. Samantha says

    January 17, 2013 at 8:01 pm

    “I will not reach and yearn for other’s stories”
    A good reminder for me to never ever covet what someone else has…

    Reply
  5. Laura @ Life is Beautiful says

    January 10, 2013 at 7:31 am

    Tears. I feel like perhaps God both cries and smiles with love for His daughter as He sees this beautiful post you wrote and knows the heart behind it.
    Thanks for the inspiration– esp. since I just went to the doctor yesterday for a PCOS checkup…

    Reply
  6. Ashley says

    January 6, 2013 at 8:56 pm

    I love your perspective! Thanks for writing such beautiful words and thank you for stopping by my blog! I look forward to reading more of yours.

    Reply
    • Natasha Metzler says

      January 7, 2013 at 12:46 pm

      Ah, thanks! You’re always welcome. 🙂

      Reply
  7. Lorretta @Dancing On The Dash says

    January 5, 2013 at 12:48 am

    I can’t help but …wow. So much real wow. I too, will not reach and yearn for other’s stories. I’ve done it countless times in other covetous ways. Thanks Dear.

    Reply
  8. Lyn says

    January 3, 2013 at 5:17 pm

    Beautiful, and timely. Thank you, I will remind myself that I will not yearn and reach for others’ stories. Bless you, Natasha.

    Reply
  9. Mandy (@DailyCupOfGrace) says

    January 3, 2013 at 2:50 pm

    Natasha, while write this about infertility – something I personal have not experienced – I can’t help but apply your beautiful words to my own life. Your post is a wonderful and gentle reminder for me to not want someone else’s story.

    Reply
    • Natasha Metzler says

      January 7, 2013 at 12:45 pm

      So, so thankful for you, Mandy. For your encouragement and grace. It means the world to me.

      Reply
  10. Julie Sunne says

    January 2, 2013 at 11:43 pm

    So true and so beautiful

    Reply
  11. bethzimmerman says

    January 2, 2013 at 10:04 pm

    Shivers! Literally! I love you, Tasha!

    Reply
    • Natasha Metzler says

      January 7, 2013 at 12:42 pm

      Thanks, Beth. You’re always such an encouragement. <3

      Reply
  12. Amanda {A Royal Daughter} says

    January 2, 2013 at 9:29 pm

    I think I am at the place where I am realizing that God does in fact redeem the pain. But not always in the way I want. That He is using me, still childless, to share HIS glory and HIS unfailing love creates a bittersweet flurry of hope within me.

    Thank you for this, Natasha!

    Reply
    • Natasha Metzler says

      January 7, 2013 at 12:41 pm

      So well said. Not always in the way we want. But it is redemption, nonetheless.

      Reply
  13. Amy Alves says

    January 2, 2013 at 2:18 pm

    Natasha, it’s so nice to read your writings again after your holiday break. I loved the way you were able to describe the growth God has performed in you. Exciting things ahead for you, a woman of faith. Happy New Year girl! ~ Blessings out, Amy

    Reply
    • Natasha Metzler says

      January 2, 2013 at 4:32 pm

      Hi, Amy!! It’s good to be back. I missed y’all! 🙂

      Reply
  14. Matt @ The Church of No People says

    January 2, 2013 at 11:25 am

    Yes, yes, yes. My wife and I have been dealing with infertility for a couple of years now. And the resolution I realized I needed to make some time ago was not to be jealous of other people and their children, but to bless them and be happy for them. I don’t need their pity and sorrow, and nothing attracts those more than jealousy. 🙂 All life is God’s to give and take.

    Reply
    • Natasha Metzler says

      January 2, 2013 at 4:32 pm

      Well put, Matt. All life is God’s.
      May you and your wife feel His presence as you journey this road.

      Reply
  15. justlikemyfatherseyes says

    January 1, 2013 at 10:28 pm

    Beautiful as always Tasha! Beautiful words, beautiful truth from your beautiful heart. Everytime I read your posts on infertility I ache with your pain but I also feel a whisper of a thrill of excitement for what God IS DOING in you and what He WILL DO for you. Blessings to you in this new year! Rhonda

    Reply
    • Natasha Metzler says

      January 2, 2013 at 4:30 pm

      Oh, Rhonda- You have been such an encouragement to me. Thank you so much. {hugs}

      Reply
  16. Emily Cook (@Weakandloved) says

    January 1, 2013 at 10:12 pm

    lovely.

    Reply
    • Natasha Metzler says

      January 2, 2013 at 4:29 pm

      Thank you, dear Emily.

      Reply
  17. Jess says

    January 1, 2013 at 10:05 pm

    Your beautiful words always cause me to stop and sometimes cringe at my own struggles and thoughts of infertility.

    Reply
    • Natasha Metzler says

      January 2, 2013 at 4:29 pm

      I do hope you don’t cringe too much, Jess. You’ve been such an inspiration to me. I could have written your life into this post as well… a glorious picture of God redeeming. <3

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. SEE.SPEAK.HEAR.MAMA. mothering with my senses – Dear Infertility, says:
    May 13, 2013 at 6:43 am

    […] considered that I would not have a baby when I wanted to, the word infertile was foreign to me. Infertility is barren, is lacking in breath, stagnant, is not flowering or growing. Infertility is dead.  And […]

    Reply
  2. Dear Infertility, « seespeakhearmama says:
    February 6, 2013 at 9:36 pm

    […] although I never thought I would say this…thank you infertility.  You came to destroy but you were defeated. #BAM! […]

    Reply

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