Conception (Pt 2)

We are a people obsessed with control. I don't know if it's just Americans, the greater part of the developed world, or all of it, but our control issues are out of control. I feel like to even say this is to state the obvious - is there anyone with an ounce of maturity out there who would argue this point with me? And what I am putting out there, in particular, is the notion that we can take the miracle of conception and decide that we can lead and guide even this - the creation of life.

I was blessed with two sons who I loved and adored (still do). But I knew I was only getting one more child out of my husband, and I wanted a daughter. ;D I recall talking with my Mom and saying, "Did you ever want something so bad that you thought, 'God's just GOT to give it to me'?" That's how I felt.

So, I did what any modern day bibliophile who recognizes what wealth our multitude of libraries and bookstores affords us would do. I took matters into my own hands, and bought and read books on How To Determine the Sex of Your Baby. It was all too complicated for me, however, so before I could quite grasp how to organize my strategy - I was expecting. It was done, and I was robbed of the opportunity to try my own little creation science experiment. It had remained His and His alone - and nine months later I was blessed with my third son, equally loved and adored. And that longing that I'd once thought was personally stamped within me through and through to the marrow of my bones; well, over time He dealt with that and replaced it with gratitude and contentment as I trusted Him with even this.

I realize that there are many sorrows and longings that go into our heart's desires when it comes to being denied the blessing of giving birth. I know that having the reality of a child does not begin once they are on their way. They are real to many of us even before they are born, even before they are conceived. I also know that I cannot comprehend those heartbreaks that I have never personally experienced, like infertility. But my contention is that whether we do or do not get what we want, in this case "children", should not determine our freedom to take control of our situation.

Conception has been wrested out of God's hands.

From Steven Katz, M.D. in The San Francisco Medical Journal:

In 1978 at Bourne Hall, Great Britain, the first baby was created by the mixing of a human egg and sperm in the laboratory. Thus, in-vitro fertilization (IVF) was "bourne".

Today, 23 years later, over 60,000 cycles of IVF are completed each year in the United States alone. What was once an experimental procedure is now commonplace (emphasis mine) in our society. Why does infertility seem much more common today than a generation ago? The answer is unclear but many theories have been proposed. First, some people feel that the sexual revolution of the sixties and seventies led to many known and unknown sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). These STDs created pelvic infections and ultimately tubal disease. Secondly, women are much more likely to work outside the home and thereby delay childbearing. Lastly, investigators have hypothesized environmental factors and stress as causal factors.

It has become commonplace, and I contend an additional explanation for the increase in fertility treatments. Quite simply - We can. As His children, we were not intended to be herded along by the world and it's ways. What I am putting forth is not easy, I am quite aware. It leads to many more questions, and I do not hold the answer to all of them. But I do know this. He said:

"You are to be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be My own."

And if we are simply doing what we can because we can, not because He has led you or me to do whatever, then we are not following. We are leading.