Join the Club

Everyone wants to be part of a circle, a club, the inner sanctum of something.

In 2003, I joined the "Barren Woman" Club.  It was not a club I chose to join.  It was not a club I wanted to be a part of.  The darkness, insecurity, fear, depression that you can tread through as you battle infertility, can be unbearable at times. As you watch friends and family become pregnant and give birth to their amazing children, you can suffer unimaginable sadness - and joyfulness for your loved ones - all at the same time!  What a mixed bag of emotions to carry.  And yet, being a part of that club, God changed my heart, made me look deep inside myself until I was able to say "Lord, I will love you even if you do not give me a child."  Also during that time, I met and shared with many amazing women who were thrust into infertility membership.

Adrianna Lucille ~ April 18, 2009

Then in 2009, I joined the MOMMY club!  What an amazing, wonderful, fantastic club to be a part of.  I know so many women who would give all that they own to be a part of this inner circle.  A club that has been around since, well, Eve.  Talk about the longest running club ever!!!  Getting membership into this club did not come easy for me... and sadly, I know many women who still have not received their "in" yet.  And even sadder, I've met women who have joined the club, then lost their membership through the loss of their child.  A membership that should NEVER be revoked.

But here I am - a bonefide card-carrying (well, maybe better said, "baby weight" carrying) member of the Mommy Club.  I have never felt so welcomed.  I have never felt so connected as I do now.  My children have given me meaning, have given me joy, have filled my heart with so much love - none of which I ever knew as I do now.  What an amazing circle to be a part of!

And now in 2010, I joined another club.  Not one I ever thought I would be a part of.... one in which I thought it could "never happen to me".  One, in which I did not realize how big the circle was.  One, where unless you are given passage into the club, would you ever know the secrets of the inner-sanctum.  I become a parent of a "special needs" child.  A parent of  a kiddo with health issues, developmental issues, a child who isn't "typical" (FYI for those of you that care to know - I am not one that offends easily by "labels" and terms used, but "typical" seems to be the PC way of saying "normal").

Darrell 'Carson' ~ September 29, 2010

There are so many aspects of having a child with special needs, that I never realized.  The emotional, physical, mental, spiritual toll it can have on you.  The worries involved.  The juggling of appointments.  The research and advocacy you need to do.  The medical things you have to learn.  The therapy and special treatment needed. The continual hoops you jump through for your child's sake and your families sake.  Seeing the world through different glasses.

And yet, even with all of the "stuff", there's an advantage to being in a club... it is knowing you are not alone; that there are other mothers out there going through similar things.  A very special mommy club.   I have been so amazingly encouraged and lifted up by moms that have been there and are still there; by moms who understand the struggle, what it means to have victory in the "small things", that can empathize instead of just sympathize.  To all of you mom's of this special club - thank you!  I am blessed by you!  Thank you for understanding me, for encouraging me, for sharing your struggles and your joys with me. 


"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."  1 Thessalonians 5:11