"For those of you who never heard of hyperemesis gravidarum, it is your normal morning sickness gone psycho. It is not limited to mornings or evenings or even the first two trimesters of pregnancy. It is non-stop nausea and vomiting and can result in serious dehydration and even hospitalization for some women. Most women who experience hyperemesis, like me, are prescribed antiemetics to control the vomiting and keep the symptoms at a manageable level. But even with medications the baseline level for women struggling with this condition is extreme fatigue and the feeling that you might lose your lunch at any moment. Nice.
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I share this about my own struggles because the sicknesses I have endured to become a mother have taught me a lot about women seeking abortions. Before becoming pregnant, and thus very sick for the first time, I could not understand how a woman could ever feel so threatened by a growing baby as to want to “terminate” it. Just a few short weeks after my first positive pregnancy test, I remember feeling terrible about myself because the only thing I could think about and wanted was for things to go back to normal. I just wanted to feel good again and be free of this sickness. At the height of this pregnancy sickness and already 20 pounds down in less than 5 weeks, I remember thinking that I could actually understand a woman wanting an abortion. I got it. In my weakness I understood the temptation towards abortion for the first time ever in my life."
I wanted to post this on my blog because her story rings so true and is so honest and true. I know for myself I had the same realization that she had about abortion when I was sick sick sick with my pregnancy with Augustine. I never have ever ever wanted an abortion but I understood for the first time why some woman give in to the "easy way out". She then goes on to talk about how the suffering you go through is like a Crucifixion. This is my body given up for you!
What a beautiful gift God has given to us woman to offer our bodies for a greater life giving purpose. I can say this so easily after now making it past the nausea of the first trimester. But there are a lot more sufferings to come and of those I am acutely aware of this time around. I am at 15weeks today and had entered, what I call, my headache phase. Ever since I was a child I suffered from awful migraines. I have somewhat grown out of them but at about 14 weeks pregnant I start to get endless throbbing headaches. It is so hard to rejoice in these struggles and pains but sometimes God gives me the grace to recognize in the moment what a gift my body is and how perfectly and wonderfully He has made me.
After my dear husband gave me a neck and back massage I have no throbbing headache today and I can rejoice again in no pain (for a little while). I can also rejoice in the fact that I seemed to have found the remedy for my headaches and a quite nice remedy at that!
Until I get to meet you, my little precious child, I am so honored to be offering my body up for you with agape love!
May your cross today (whatever it may be) help you to realize your greater purpose on earth to offer those sufferings up.
We always find that those who walked closest to Christ were those who had to bear the greatest trials.
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