It’s December – although there isn’t snow on the ground (or even in the air, for that matter), Christmas carols are playing. Cookies are being baked. A tree has been bought and decorated. Gifts are starting to pile up. We are waiting for a baby.
We live in a birth-control world. We live in a world of stress and chaos beyond our comprehension where often the single-most thing we can control is our body and what we do with it. Until we can’t.
For some women, pregnancy is a result of their own decision – for others, the result of someone else’s. Some women are overjoyed at the prospect, many are scared, some are even repelled and appalled by the idea. Some women will even long for the results to come back positive, while others don’t give it a second thought what it means to want a child. Some experience smooth pregnancies without concern, while others struggle with depression, anxiety, or other legitimate concerns over their growing bellies – or over why their bellies will not grow. Some babies will be entirely healthy, born without complication, while others will need medical intervention and care – or will be beyond that help.
My point is that we are in the midst of Christmas season – a time that most of us associate with joy and love and warm, fuzzy feelings as we stroll through malls and hang decorations and watch shiny light bounce off of snowflakes. It’s easy to forget that there is much more to this season than light and joy and peace-filled thoughts.