The Art of Balancing Motherhood and Chronic Illness

lisa-and-joshua

Motherhood and chronic illness. If these two words relate to your life, chances are they are enough to keep you busy indefinitely. They can easily become a large part of your identity, and they both fight for control over your energy, time, and some days, your sanity. I have been working on a book about living with a chronic illness and being a mom for a few years now. It's about 70 percent done, but something keeps getting in the way of finishing it. You know what kinds of things: motherhood and childhood. And the more I learn, the more I realize I don't know. As I work on a chapter about the latest lessons I've discovered, my house tends to erupt in chaos and I feel tested again. Was it God trying to stretch me so the book would … [Read more...]

Q & A: How Do I Know if God Has Motherhood In My Future?

baby-shoes

I have been married for four years and have multiple sclerosis. My husband and I have been trying to conceive for some time and it's not happening. I think I am capable of being a mom, despite my illness, but it's making me nervous to see the clock ticking--and for those of us with illness, it ticks a whole lot faster! I don't want to grow bitter about not getting pregnant yet, but my friends are having kids, doing family events, and now, not only do I feel ousted because my illness slows me down, but I am just not at soccer games and Chuck E. Cheese. How do I cope with all these mixed up feelings? Leslie Leslie, My heart aches for you. I remember my own similar journey for years back in the late nineties until the day our son was … [Read more...]

A Different Kind of Mom: Making a Difference at Home and in the World for Christ

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I remember sitting at my first MOPS meeting for Mother's with Preschoolers. After years of waiting to have a child, my husband and I had been blessed with a newborn through adoption. The irony is, all of the moms at the table had new babies. We needed support way before our children reached preschool age! Our of about 10 of us however, I found is disheartening to hear all but myself and another mom say, "Don't you just hate being a parent some days?" Gasp! And these were Christian women. "All I feel like is the maid and the cook" they shared. Looking back, now I realize that I was still in some of the "bliss" of motherhood." Yet, ironically, the only two of us who were content at the moment were both working at home--in the middle of the … [Read more...]

Adoption Magazines

Adoptive Families Magazine An award-winning national adoption magazine, is the leading adoption information source for families before, during, & after adoption. Adoption Today Your guide to the issues & answers surrounding International & domestic adoption. Written by adoptive parents, adoptees & professionals in the fields of medicine, law, education, social work, child development & International & domestic adoption. Fostering Families TODAY This magazine explores the issues that profoundly affect families & children through articles & stories reflecting professional expertise & the experienced perspective of dedicated parents. … [Read more...]

Is Adoption an Option for Those with Illness?

It can be emotionally devastating to not only have to deal with a chronic illness but then be dealt the h& of infertility on top of it. Sometimes the infertility can be a natural state that would have happened regardless of your illness or not; other times, it can be related. Perhaps your illness prevents you from carrying a child, or you are unable to go off of the medications which could be harmful for a unborn child. Rest Ministries founder, Lisa Copen, has rheumatoid arthritis & despite the doctor's assurance that she was able to become pregnant, she still stopped trying when her body wore down & she decided to not going any further with infertility treatments. After two years of waiting to adopt, Lisa & her husb& were … [Read more...]