The Same

A few years ago, I was involved in yet another Bible study. During that time, I only had my daughter; the twins weren't even a thought. Just coming out of infertility, I was still carrying around a lot of scars from that difficult time in my life. The Lord taught me something during that study that may seem obvious to you, but I had never realized it before: We are all the same.

When people go through a crisis, no matter how different, we experience similar emotions and struggles. Here is a comparison of a pregnant teenage girl and a barren married woman:

The pregnant girl feels ashamed of her state, jealous of others who aren't in her condition, grief over lost dreams, helpless, and scared of the future. She faces tough moral decisions like whether or not to have an abortion or marry the father. She hears heartless comments from people, and she feels like the world is judging her.

In the same manner, the barren woman feels ashamed of her empty womb, jealous of others who are having children, grief over lost dreams, helpless, and scared of the future. She also faces tough moral decisions such as whether or not to try in-vitro fertilization or freeze embryos. The thoughtless comments from people head her way too, and she feels like the world is judging her because of her infertile state.

Sadly, I often felt envious of that pregnant teenage girl, but I'm pretty sure she felt envious of me. Both of us were focused on the wrong things as many of us do during a crisis. Ultimately, we must see that He is molding, shaping, and refining us all during those difficult times that may look very different from the outside. Inside, they are not so different, and neither are we.