Anxious Thoughts, Anyone?

I have, in a previous blog shared how I overcome fear and anxiety in late 2017. 

 A few weeks ago, I found myself in a new murky cycle of anxiety and fear with bouts of high blood pressure, and that really freaked me out. 

If you are waiting on God for anything: could be healing, or salvation of a loved one, or a job, or a spouse/child to turn around, or a pregnancy, or like me adoption, and you have been praying and the heavens seem quiet on you, find encouragement in the below: 

•  God is a good Father. He will not with-hold any of His gifts from us. 
• God is with us, we should neither fear nor get dismayed because He has strengthened us for the wait, He is helping us, He is upholding us with His righteous right hand.
• When the timing is perfect, the Lord will make it happen. The healing/salvation/job/spouse/child, whatever it is you are trusting God for will happen/come when the timing is right. 
• God has supplied us with joy, peace and grace for the waiting season. We only need to meditate on scripture and as the Word transforms us, the peace that surpasses human understanding will transcend on us. 

  May you have a joyful and peaceful 2nd week of December ♥️♥️

Answering some interesting (read weird) comments and questions people ask about adoption:

I. Wait!!! First, do not adopt, I have this doktari/ prophet/ medicine man/ witch 

a)   People do not just wake up and decide to adopt. Most have walked the lonely journey of infertility, visited dozens of clinics, they have prayed and have been prayed for and some have drunk gallons of bitter herbs. So, please, go slow on the recommendations

b)   Some people, like us neither believe nor engage in witchcraft.

II. “Now that you are adopting, you will for sure get pregnant. 

a)   Please don’t assume it. Most adopting couples have grieved and healed from the loss that comes with infertility. The journey to healing is usually bumpy and uncertain, with many crushed hopes evidenced by the monthly flow. Go slow on such comments

III. Why have you given up in God?

a)   Is it possible to give up on a God who grants us the miracle of incomprehensible peace and joy? Is it possible to be truly be peaceful when you have given up on the giver and creator of these spiritual gifts?

b)   Why would anyone give up on the all wise God who performs the miracle of; healing our broken hearts, helping us stick through together then giving us the deep desire to adopt, not one but many children? Why would anyone give up on such a good Father?

c)   Adoption is God’s will. The devil would never give anyone the desire to want to love and take care of children they have not given birth to.

  IV. Have you selected the baby yet?

a)   No, we have not. It’s illegal to walk into a children’s home and select a child for adoption. Only registered Adoption Agencies place children in families, additionally only the High Court can grant an adoption order. Adoption is both a social and a legal process and it starts at the Adoption Agency, not the Children’s Home.

V. Can you really afford adopting a child in this country?

a)   In Kenya, you are not allowed to buy a child. Any person who gives money/ any valuable in exchange of a child engages in child trafficking and commits a crime.

b)   However, adoption being a legal process, most people prefer engaging a lawyer in the later stages for the court procedures. The legal fees are fair and negotiable.

VI. What if you get your own children, will you be able to love the adopted ones?

a)   Child birth and adoption are mutually exclusive. You cannot adopt to replace a child you wish you birthed. An adopted child is a child in their full capacity and should never be a Plan B. All adopting parents must first heal from the grief of childlessness/infertility.

b)   I am not a parent yet but from my interaction with adoptive parents (those with adopted and biological children), I think Biology is the least of what makes someone a parent. Love makes one a good parent. We have all seen many bio-parents abandon/ abuse/ neglect their children giving me the conclusion that love is more emotional than physical. The bond you form with a child has nothing to do with whether the child is biological or adopted; it has everything to do with the experiences you share together. The same is true with your spouse, in-laws, pets, friends, and anyone else in your life whom you love dearly but don’t share a blood relation with. 

Hope you enjoy this read, Lots of love.

I resigned without a plan- Lessons from my resignation

     

1.    1. We were created to work. - Work is not optional. The man and the woman were both placed in the garden to work, God gave dominion to them both. Sadly, women in the Christian circle stop working once they get married or get children, and I was one of them.

Women need to fulfill the commandment to work; either as entrepreneurs or as employees, or as both. 

 2.      I need to always deal with my personal issues first. – Looking back, I realized that our childlessness was taking a toll on me. I did not know how to handle the internal pressure. Additional pressure from work felt like a tsunami and I thought quitting was the best thing. Unfortunately, after resigning I got so stressed and had to intentionally find internal healing.

Before you turn in your resignation notice, be sure it's not because you're looking for something only Christ can offer.

 3.      Financial realities. – I had to cut on spending and discount on a lifestyle I had acquired. Months later, it occurred that I also had to forget the employer’s pension, this has had a compounding effect on my future finances.

Do the benefits to quit outweigh the lifestyle challenges that come with the resignation? Do not downplay the financial hit that comes with the loss of income.

 4.      Stagnated Career goals – Quitting your job young, with no plan affects your career. With thousands of smart university grads leaving school every year and with the advancement in technology, I risked getting redundant by staying unemployed.

For anyone thinking of focusing on other things now, rather than career, you should have a plan for keeping your skills sharp and staying on top of changes in your profession, as well as thinking ahead to how you might re-enter the workforce.

 5.      Frustrated Entrepreneur- Entrepreneurship is not for everyone. One month after quitting, I was bored and tried my hand in business. Self-employment is hard and emotionally draining, you need to be incredibly passionate. You work longer than a typical corporate job, and will most certainly take longer before you make the money you would make in employment.  

 6.      God Has You Here for a Reason- Mostly, our work circumstances are not ideal, this is not heaven. But God is intentional in everything He does, He has placed you there for a bigger purpose than money and comfort. The job you are so anxious to leave may very well be what God will use to build His Kingdom.

 In my opinion, Men and women complement each other, so when these two workforces work together a better result will produce for sure. Having a purpose in life makes  us understand that we have a life beyond motherhood and playing a good wife. A woman should work for the betterment of herself, her satisfaction and happiness

 

Married, No Children…………. Remain Married!!!

“Be fruitful and multiply. . .” (Genesis 1:28). The command to procreate appears ingrained in the fiber of our being and the inability to conceive causes great pain; emotionally, intellectually, physically, and spiritually.

I think life disappointments and the prospects of unrealized expectations occur often in life and they are usually traumatic, but never quite to the degree that infertility is.

If you are a childless couple, there are steps you can take to enhance your relationship so that it grows and thrives.

1.      Honor your marriage vows- Be a team, you are to stick it out in good times and in bad times. Always approach the issues as a team, working together and finding ways to share responsibility regarding treatment. Do not blame each other, Protect your spouse!

 

2.    Separate baby-making from love- I’ll be honest, Infertility is a mood killer. Try to keep the sex alive. Plan romantic encounters and understand that sexual intimacy does not have to mean intercourse (how true is that?). Purpose to enjoy sex. Sexual union places the marriage relationship in a category apart from any other human relationship.

3.      Identify individual coping styles under stress- Childlessness and infertility involves many emotions; intense feelings of anger, anxiety, frustration, helplessness, loneliness, grief, envy, and even depression. Accept the differences in how each of you handles and deals with your feelings to lessen conflicts. 

Naturally, men and women will feel and deal differently with infertility. However, different doesn’t mean better or worse; it only means not the same.

4.      Give your spouse some breathing space- Understand that couples are rarely at the same place, at the same time, especially during infertility treatment.

5.      Together, make Important Decisions and Create A Plan- If you decide to pursue fertility treatment as a priority, but use all your money on vacations, you will likely not get any closer to success. Fertility Treatment is expensive and insurance does not cover it. 

Be assertive in deciding what you want and do not want to do. You have the right to make your own decisions including treatment. 

Remain married regardless of childlessness and infertility.

Healing from the Heart Break of Waiting - Lessons from a semi-decade

32 got me excited to share what our journey of waiting has been like. I pray that God uses this blog to reach out to many ladies and families struggling in silence. From my last blog, I received many messages thanking me for sharing what most of us cannot.

These few Truths saw me start the healing process late in 2017. May you be encouraged.

In God, there is no wasted pain. In my last blog, we saw that pain is an important agent of change, it equips us for ministry as it produces perseverance, character and hope.I should guard my heart. Peace and joy are fragile, these, I diligently guard.

Sis, if you do not have the strength to attend baby showers, children parties, etc., you are allowed to say NO, thank you. Know your stress triggers.

God owes me nothing, not even children. I am just but a jar of clay, He is the potter. If He chooses to give children, Hallelujah. If He decides not to give, He remains God, in whom I have my being.

Because God has given graces for every situation/ season, I choose joy.  I was born worthy and I remain worthy; not having children does not change that.

 

Everyone has their struggle (thorn in the flesh). Mine is not having children. God has given all of us enough grace to handle our thorns.

 

Sis……………...If you are: In deep pain, with your personal and work life in shreds, and your self-esteem in the toilet, and friends and family becoming alien to you, unable to sleep (or sleeping too much), unable to eat (or eating too much), unable to read, unable to watch a movie, unable to step out, I have been there, but In God I found my healing. Try Him.

The WAIT

1.    Pain is good – I have learnt that pain is not an interruption to my story, it is a part of it and it’s an important part of it, because pain is not only inevitable, it is also the greatest agent of change. Suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope. Hope does not disappoint.

2.     Pain changes us- The thing about childlessness is that people never think not getting pregnant is the miracle. We all think that the miracle is in the getting pregnant. That's the ideal. But the honest truth is that I am eagerly waiting to adopt a baby. Adoption was never part of our plan, but I have infertility to thank for the family we shall have. I believe that our healed hearts, sticking through this season together and not getting pregnant was our miracle.

3.     God is interested in our hearts- The desire to have children is not wrong, but where was it seated in my heart? How did it define my worth and my purpose? For years I thought and believed that having children would lead me into a life of meaning, but I have since learnt that this is not how God defines my worth, and it’s definitely not how He defines your worth.

4.     God is sovereign- He has power and authority over nature, earthly kings, history, angels, and demons. In His Sovereignty, He decides how to fill your quiver, conventionally through birth, but unconventionally through adoption and fostering. His ultimate goal is for us to bring up a godly generation.

In Conclusion:

God's power is not displayed only through supernatural physical healing. It takes a far more creative and powerful God to bring beauty and healing to brokenness that doesn't get a quick fix. Not getting the miracle we think we want can sometimes lead to miracles that are immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine. Our desire to adopt 3 children is proof.  

King Solomon: Partial Obedience is Disobedience

Synopsis of King Solomon’s reign.

v  1 Kings 1:29-30: Solomon was God’s choice as David’s predecessor.

v  1 Kings 2:1-5: David charged Solomon to observe the law of the Lord. Trust in God and obedience to God’s Word was the key choices that would bring Solomon, his family and Kingdom success.

v  I kings 3:7-12: Solomon requested for wisdom, and God gave him a wise and a discerning heart.

v  I Kings 3:1: But Solomon disobeyed God and got into an alliance with Egypt by marrying Pharaoh’s daughter.

v  I Kings 9:3-9: At the halfway mark of Solomon’s reign, the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time. He reminded him of His faithful covenant but still warned him against turning away from His ordinances.

v  1 kings 9:10- 1 Kings 11: Solomon turned away from God. The wisest man foolishly ignored God’s commands, married 700 wives and acquired 300 concubines. These women turned him away from worshipping God. He combined the worship of God with that of other gods and goddesses, those preferred by his wives.

v  Deuteronomy 17:14-20: Solomon also amassed great wealth for himself, contrary to God’s commands.

v  I Kings 11: God raised adversaries against Solomon and the Kingdom of Israel got split.

Ø1.     Do the pressures and pleasures of this life distract us from God and His goodness? Do we obey when it's convenient to? Who truly is God in our lives? Is it Self? Or Children? Or Spouses? Or Careers and businesses? Or is it God?

True wisdom loves and desires God above everything.

2.    Is our love for Jesus slowly fading away?

God revealed Himself to King Solomon early in His life. Perhaps God blessed you with believing parents, friends, neighbors, etc., but can we say that our love for Jesus grows stronger?

Sin is subtle. Falling is always a slow fade.

3.    Do we genuinely pursue God or are we fixated on His gifts to us?

No privilege, power, person or possession must be more precious to God’s people than God.

To spurn God’s grace for the empty pursuit of material things brings heartache and shame.

4.    How do we define success?

King Solomon tragically abandoned God’s glorious plans for self-indulgence, sensuality, and pride.

True success is contentment with God.

5.    Does God indeed keep His promises?

God is a promise keeper. He vowed to give David an everlasting kingdom and although the 10 tribes of Israel were torn away from his lineage, for David’s sake Judah remained and Jesus Christ, Judah’s descendant was born.

God is faithful, slow to anger, abounding in love, keeping His promises for generations.

Lots of Love,

Shikoh 💕💕