Had it not been...

First of all, Happy Valentine's Day!!

From a recent Sarah's Laughter devotional, there was an idea that has inspired me and so I thought it would be a good idea to share with you all as well.

Whether you are facing infertility or a different struggle in life all together, your attitude about your present situation can either grow your character closer to God or harm your walk with Him. The idea from that devotional was about applying a bunch of "If Only's" to your life.

When you view your present situation through that lens, "If only...", you are setting yourself up to be discontent. The very essence of that statement, "If only...", means that you are wishing for something other than your present, other than what you have now.

The devotional encourages you to switch your attitude from "If only..." to "Had it not been...". The former comes from a heart of discontentment, where the latter comes from a heart of gratitude. It focuses on the growth that has taken place as a result of the present circumstances.

So I would encourage you to switch your line of thinking as well. Ask yourself how God has moved in your life through your present struggles. Ask yourself what good things have happened as a result of your struggle. Remember these truths:

Genesis 50:20
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.

Romans 8:28
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

So here's my list:

• Had it not been for infertility...I would not be as close to my husband as I am today.
• Had it not been for infertility...I would not rely on God for comfort and strength like I do now.
• Had it not been for infertility...I would have been an incredibly selfish, prideful, ungrateful, and complaining mother.
• Had it not been for infertility...we would never have been open to changing our diet, and I would never know the great feeling I would have been missing out on.
• Had it not been for infertility...I would have only a seedling of faith.
• Had it not been for infertility...we likely would not have ended up in our current house and neighborhood.
• Had it not been for infertility...I wouldn't have achieved some success at work that has taken place during the time we were trying to conceive.
• Had it not been for infertility...I would not truly understand how great of a blessing a little child really is.
• Had it not been for infertility...I would not have met and become close friends with some fellow ladies struggling with infertility. Those friendships are so precious to me!

Sorry for the commerical break

Sorry it's been a while since I've posted anything. I've been compiling responses to the upcoming series I want to post about, which will hopefully be ready in the next month or so.

In the meantime, I'll share a couple updates...

• We got our blood work back that showed the pre- and post-diet levels. We were astonished at how much Michael's cholesterol dropped! If you want to read about our other before/after results, we blogged about it here.
• Because the information about diet and nutrition is so vast, and because so many people have asked about it, we decided to create an entirely separate blog specifically about our journey to health. If you're interested in following that blog too, the link is: http://tofuandmanna.blogspot.com/
• I realized about a month ago how much these health improvements have helped my outlook on our fertility and my life in general. It makes sense, right? That the physical, mental, and spiritual are all intertwined. Looking back to my state of mind over the summer, I see how much I was struggling with depression. I wasn't actively aware of it at the time, but boy was it deep. But since we've changed our diet and exercise habits, my outlook on life is dramatically improved. I no longer feel weighed down by thoughts of hopelessness. I'm so thankful for God leading us towards this decision!
• I ran a mile without taking a break to walk for the first time in my whole life! For you regular runners out there, I realize this is no big deal, but for me, it's a really big deal. I used to hate running. H.A.T.E. I.T.! I would attempt to run and quickly feel so winded that I would have to stop to walk. But a couple weeks ago, it was a beautiful Friday afternoon when we got home from work, and we decided to go for a jog. I didn't quite make it to a consecutive 1-mile distance without walking, but we ended up going a total distance of 3.5 miles, where most of it was running! Then we went a few days later, and I beat my previous record - we ran for 1-mile, walked briefly, then ran another mile! This former run-hater was so proud of herself. Now, don't expect me to be running any marathons any time soon, but I was happy to get rid of my hatred for it. :)
• Dr. H. is super sweet. She emailed me to check up on me because she hasn't heard from me in a while. I just love how caring she is and how she strives to invest in her patient's lives.

That's pretty much it. Thank you all for your continued prayers. We really appreciate it!