{"id":134,"date":"2009-03-19T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-03-19T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/?p=134"},"modified":"2009-03-19T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2009-03-19T12:00:00","slug":"marlo-schalesky-if-sarah-why-not-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/uncategorized\/marlo-schalesky-if-sarah-why-not-me","title":{"rendered":"Marlo Schalesky–If Sarah, Why Not Me?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>

Today another writing friend shares a story. This time it’s her story.
Here’s Marlo: <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> “Infertility. Most of my adult life, I fought it. It\u2019s challenged my faith, robbed my bank account, and in the end, made me into a stronger, braver woman. From it, I\u2019ve written a nonfiction book on infertility, Empty Womb, Aching Heart<\/span>, and several novels. But none of that would have happened if I hadn\u2019t remembered Sarah.<\/p>\n

<\/span> For years friends and family would say \u201cRemember Sarah!\u201d to encourage me to have faith. Rebecca, Rachel, Hannah, Elizabeth–God opened their wombs, but mine was still closed. Didn\u2019t I have enough faith? So, my Bible sat on the shelf, unopened, my prayer journal lay unused, and my attendance at church dwindled.
<\/span>
Then, one day I was cleaning out the closet when I found a small journal with peonies on the front. I sat on the floor, with my back against the closet door, and rubbed one hand over the first page. \u201cJunior Year,\u201d it read in big purple letters, my favorite color. I flipped to about half way through and began to read.<\/p>\n

<\/span>
I saw the sunrise today, Lord. It was amazing. I wish I could say that I saw it because I was up early to pray, but as You know, I had to pull an all-nighter to get that paper done. But it was worth it to see the streaks of orange, red, and gold at the dawn of a new day. I stood there and thought to myself, I know the One who made that sunrise. The same One who lives in me. You know, I can feel You there, Lord, in my heart. Some days, like today, Your love is a tangible thing, like a warm blanket that wraps around my insides. In these moments, I feel like I could shout to the stars about what an awesome, incredible, super-wow God You are. I can\u2019t believe there was ever a time when I turned my back on You. What a fool I was. But everything\u2019s different now, God. My life, my heart, is filled with the wonder of knowing You. I\u2019ll never forget this feeling. I\u2019ll never forget to keep loving You. I promise . . .<\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n

Tears came to my eyes. I\u2019d lost something more precious than my hope for a child. I\u2019d lost my closeness with God. And that had made my heart even emptier than my womb. Yet, I could still feel the anger at God that was lodged in my heart like a huge stone, burying me in my self-made tomb. How could I ever get past my pain?<\/span><\/p>\n

I rose from the floor and began to write.<\/p>\n

<\/span> God, it\u2019s me, you know, the one who keeps asking you for a baby. Well, I\u2019m so mad at You I could just spit . . .<\/span><\/span><\/span>

That long, slow journey back to God is also reflected in Kinna the main character in If <\/span>Tomorrow Never Comes<\/span>. She, too, finds a new kind of strength and sacrifice through her journey through infertility.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>\"\"<\/a>
Only when I surrendered all my dreams, doubts, and difficulties to God, He gave me two daughters, and after miscarriages, twin boys.<\/span>
All God asks is that we bring our frustration, fears, anger, and questions to Him. He has big shoulders, as big as the sunrise.”<\/p>\n

Marlo, I also had to go through infertility and all the nasty tests and dismissive doctors. I am grateful for the son and daughter God gifted me with. Yet sometimes God does not send children. I think however that your story shows that God never abandons us and the true victory is to live within His gracious will for us.<\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today another writing friend shares a story. This time it’s her story.Here’s Marlo: “Infertility. Most of my adult life, I fought it. It\u2019s challenged my faith, robbed my bank account, and in the end, made me into a stronger, braver …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nMarlo Schalesky-If Sarah, Why Not Me? - booksbylyncote.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/uncategorized\/marlo-schalesky-if-sarah-why-not-me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Marlo Schalesky-If Sarah, Why Not Me? - booksbylyncote.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today another writing friend shares a story. 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