Infertility is seen as a blessing by God.

Trusting God in Barrenness: A Divine Paradox

“When [Christ] suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23b).

Barrenness is a painful reality that accompanies us into every aspect of life. But the truth that God is the giver of the gift of children both pains and comforts us. While we may not have control over the making of our own family, we can rest in God’s wise will for us and entrust ourselves to Him who judges justly.

Assisted Reproductive Technology

While seeking medical attention for infertility is not “laboring in vain,” not all assisted reproductive technology (ART) is healing medicine. Some procedures and medicines seek to transcend humanity and usurp God’s procreative design. It is important to consider what is best for our neighbor and run the procedure through the litmus test of God’s Ten Commandments. Manufacturing children in a petri dish and cryopreserving them in liquid nitrogen is risking their lives for the purpose of fulfilling our own desires. As a barren woman, one of the most loving things I can do for the children I beg of God is to suffer the absence of them rather than manufacture them into existence to be used, abused, and killed.

Infertility Has a Purpose in the Church

Barren marriages give ongoing testimony to the true source of life and remind the church that children are gifts from Providence. While my own marriage is barren, it is not fruitless. As a woman in the church, I am called and blessed to participate in the upbringing of the young. My husband and I can attest to the abundant work of serving as spiritual parents in the church. Being mindful of God, we cling to the promise that to endure sorrow while suffering loss “is a gracious thing in the sight of God” (1 Peter 2:19-21).

Katie Schuermann is author of He Remembers the Barren (Emmanuel Press, 2nd ed., 2017). Find her books and more at katieschuermann.com.

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