Featured News
Episode 88–Finding Hope Today, My interview with Licensed Therapist Christy Jordan
Hello everyone! Welcome back to Childless not by Choice, where my mission is to recognize and speak to the broken hearts of childless not by choice women, and men, around the world. Civilla Morgan here! I am spreading the great news that we can live a joyful, relevant, and fulfilled life, although we could not, did not, have the children we so wanted.
- Patreon Contributors: (Patreon contributors are those who have taken an interest in my platform whether they fit the childless not by choice demographic or not. They have decided to contribute a certain dollar amount on a regular basis to help fund my dream of creating awareness and conversation for the childless not by choice community globally. Click the Patreon link for details and to become a Patron!)
https://www.patreon.com/21stcenturyhannah
- Jordan Morgan
Well, we have a special guest today!
Introduce Christy:
Christy Jordan is a certified addictions professional and mental health counselor with over 10 years experiencing working with individuals, families, and couples. Her focus is helping others find hope to overcome life’s obstacles and creating a life without bondage whether that is in their relationships or as individuals. She provided office and online sessions based on clients needs working with clients internationally and locally. Her website is http://www.findinghopetoday.com where you may contact her directly, or find more information on her experience and expertise.
Welcome, Christy:
Well, let’s jump into the questions!
1)My question for the therapist is about intimacy in marriage. Now that my husband and I are working on accepting our childlessness, it feels like intimacy is no longer a priority. I sometimes feel like he finds other things (work, hobbies) to keep himself occupied. I understand that this may be part of the grief process but my question is… as a couple, how do we keep the intimacy and communication alive in the marriage while we adjust/ accept our CNBC status?
2a) Is when as a couple you get to the point of realizing it really is not going to happen and “you are an empty nester without ever being a nester” how do you keep it all alive?
2b) How does a couple transition into the “new and different dreams”? Is it just easier said than done?
3) How do you let go of any resentment towards yourself because you are the reason as a couple there are no kids.
4) Another question from one of the group members: Can you talk to us about how legacy looks for the childless not by choice woman, man, couple?
4a) Can you talk about the consideration for divorce when a spouse refuses to consider adoption?
5a) How do you stop thinking if there will be anyone to take care of you?
5b) Will you ever find lasting peace with your CNBC journey?
Christy’s contact information:
http://www.findinghopetoday.com
Books and other resources recommended by Christy:
‘The Bondage Breaker’, by Neil T. Anderson
‘Communication, Sex, Money’-Edwin Louis Cole
‘Boundaries in Marriage–(great for communication strategies), by Dr. Henry Cloud
Also…
Dale Partridge has a great blog and teachings on purpose and legacy
Thought Redirection Techniques (these are third party websites, and in no way connected with the Childless not by Choice platform. These sites are listed here solely to help you find additional assistance in mindset and thought process on your childless not by choice journey.)
https://mrsmindfulness.com/the-four-keys-to-overcoming-negative-thinkingfor-good/
https://learnevolveandthrive.com/how-to-redirect-your-thoughts-when-you-experience-emotional-pain/
https://chopra.com/articles/the-art-of-redirecting-negative-thoughts
‘Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.’–Philippians 4:8.
My contact information:
Website: https://childlessnotbychoice.net and http://www.civillamorgan.com
Facebook: booksbycivillamorgan
Twitter: @civilla1
Instagram: @joyandrelevance
Pinterest: Civilla M. Morgan, MSM
LinkedIn: Civilla Morgan, MSM
Please help me out by taking this very short survey!
https://survey.libsyn.com/21stcenturyhannah
Thank you for listening to this episode of Childless not by Choice.
I appreciate it!
Until next time! Bye!
‘To recognize and speak to the broken hearts of childless not by choice women, and men, around the world.’
Spreading the great news that we can live a joyful, relevant, and fulfilled life’.
Episode 87–Post-Mother’s Day Monologue, How did you do?
Hello everyone! Welcome back to Childless not by Choice, where my mission is to recognize and speak to the broken hearts of childless not by choice women, and men, around the world. Civilla Morgan here! I am spreading the great news that we can live a joyful, relevant, and fulfilled life, although we could not, did not, have the children we so wanted.
- Patreon Contributors: (Patreon contributors are those who have taken an interest in my platform whether they fit the childless not by choice demographic or not. They have decided to contribute a certain dollar amount on a regular basis to help fund my dream of creating awareness and conversation for the childless not by choice community globally. Click the Patreon link for details and to become a Patron!)
https://www.patreon.com/21stcenturyhannah
- Jordan Morgan
Well, this is a short post-Mother’s Day episode where I stop by to catch up with you. How did you do? I hope all went well.
We are always thankful that our moms are recognized. But there is that dread because there is no one to call us mommy. That elephant in the room!
Be sure to check out the tips, ‘ Self-care tips for the childless not by choice woman on Mother’s Day’.
Other episodes mentioned in this episode:
https://childlessnotbychoice.net/episode-65-my-interview-with-mrs-maureen-hornstein/
https://childlessnotbychoice.net/childless-not-by-choice-shame/
We have that internal battle going on, negative thoughts and feelings, society’s norms, how others feel about us, other people imposing their opinions on us.
If Mother’s Day didn’t go so well this year, there is always next year!
There are so many childless not by choice platforms. I don’t want you to feel like there are no resources out there like I felt when I first realized I would not be having any children.
Global conversation for and about the of the childless not by choice demographic is taking place!
My contact information:
Website: https://childlessnotbychoice.net and http://www.civillamorgan.com
Facebook: booksbycivillamorgan
Twitter: @civilla1
Instagram: @joyandrelevance
Pinterest: Civilla M. Morgan, MSM
LinkedIn: Civilla Morgan, MSM
Please help me out by taking this very short survey!
https://survey.libsyn.com/21stcenturyhannah
Thank you for listening to this episode of Childless not by Choice.
I appreciate it!
‘To recognize and speak to the broken hearts of childless not by choice women, and men, around the world.’
Spreading the great news that we can live a joyful, relevant, and fulfilled life’.
Until next time! Bye!
Episode 86–‘Longing for Motherhood, Holding onto hope in the midst of childlessness’, My Interview with Chelsea Patterson Sobolik
Hello everyone! Welcome back to Childless not by Choice, where my mission is to recognize and speak to the broken hearts of childless not by choice women, and men, around the world. Civilla Morgan here! I am spreading the great news that we can live a joyful, relevant, and fulfilled life, although we could not, did not, have the children we so wanted.
- Patreon Contributors: (Patreon contributors are those who have taken an interest in my platform whether they fit the childless not by choice demographic or not. They have decided to contribute a certain dollar amount on a regular basis to help fund my dream of creating awareness and conversation for the childless not by choice community globally. Click the Patreon link for details and to become a Patron!)
https://www.patreon.com/21stcenturyhannah
- Jordan Morgan
Well, today we have a special guest!
Intro: Chelsea Patterson Sobolik says about herself, ‘There are many ways I could describe myself – wife, author, Congressional staffer, daughter, friend, lover of coffee, fresh flowers, and acoustic music, but the most important thing to know about me is that my heart, mind, and soul belong to my Savior, Jesus Christ. He saved my soul from the eternal separation that I rightly deserve due to my sin, adopted me, redeemed me and calls me His own.
When I’m not writing, I’m working my full-time job, as a Legislative Assistant on child welfare policy on Capitol Hill – basically, I get to help work on policies that would make adoption and foster care better, and help improve the lives of children.
My heart lights on fire whenever I get to write or talk about adoption! A large part of that stems from the fact that I was adopted from Bucharest, Romania as a child. Apart from my salvation, being adopted is the greatest gift I’ve ever received. I grew up in North Carolina, with five adopted siblings from Eastern Europe! I am a graduate of Liberty University.
My husband Michael and I call Washington D.C. home as of a couple of years ago, and it’s been the adventure of a lifetime. While I do miss parts of the south – for instance, people smiling at me and being generally more kind, D.C. quickly became home. I live on Capitol Hill, just a few blocks away from the Capitol, and I work for one of my heroes. DC stole my heart, and I love getting to do life here.
Welcome, Chelsea!
Well, I think I wrote down 20 questions and points that stood out to me as I read your book. It was so hard to pull out just a few. But let’s get started!
- The Gospel Coalition website has a blog post you wrote back in January 2017. I’ve put the link to that post in the show notes under your contact information. But some of us were not able to adopt.
In fact ‘why don’t you just adopt’ is a question every childless not by choice woman I know has been asked.
It’s actually a pet peeve in the childless not by choice community, because if we had wanted to or were able to adopt, we would have.
The average adoption these days is about $30k. Your job description is to work ‘as a Legislative Assistant on child welfare policy on Capitol Hill – basically, I get to help work on policies that would make adoption and foster care better, and help improve the lives of children.’
Was that on purpose? Do you ever have moments when you feel left out?
2) As I read the foreword to your book ‘Longing for Motherhood, the author of the foreword said, he ‘fully expects that sometime after this book is published and in your hands, Chelsea will, in fact, find herself a mother of children…but if not, she is not deprived.’ I had to read that a couple of times…but I was a little confused, especially after reading the reason for your childlessness–Mayer–Rokitansky–Küster–Hauser syndrome (MRKH). I even wondered if he referred to your job of helping to make the adoption process easier?
3) I recognized so many parallels between your experience and mine as I read your book. Grief is truly a globally felt and understood, or maybe I should say misunderstood, language; regardless of anything else that may differentiate us. I begged and bargained with God. I told my mom she has five children of her own, and that she did not really understand my pain. Grief made me angry. Would you speak to the woman who is currently in the midst of the anger phase of her grief?
4) In the chapter, ‘Equipping the church to care for the childless’, Thank you by the way, for highlighting the fact that some women are not only childless, we are husbandless. It’s what I like to call the double whammy. What do you think it will take to get the church to realize that the congregation is now more than ever, made up of more than mom, dad, and kids, but that there are single never married people, there are widowed people, there are childless people?
5) In chapter two, you talked about redeeming the dead time in the day. It is so important to protect our thought life, isn’t it?
6) You mention that it is OK not to be OK. Can you encourage the woman or man out there, that is not feeling OK and wonders how to get through those feelings?
7) Well, as I mentioned in the beginning, I had so many notes, but as we wrap up, would you leave us with a word of encouragement with something you said in chapter 3: ‘your trials have an expiration date?
8) Chelsea, thank you so much for your time today. You are speaking to women and men who listen all around the world. You have a global audience. Is there anything else you would like to add that we should have covered?
Thank you for your time today Chelsea!
Chelsea’s contact information:
Website: http://www.chelseapattersonsobolik.com
Book: ‘Longing for Motherhood, Holding onto Hope in the Midst of Childlessness’
Blog posts:
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/today-is-my-birthday-because-my-mom-chose-life/
(January 2017)
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/profile/chelsea-patterson/
“The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian, but the fact that I am a Christian makes me a different kind of woman.”– Elisabeth Elliot
Books suggested by Chelsea:
‘The Broken Way’, by Ann Voskamp
‘Spiritual Depression’, by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Articles and links of note:
If you have not listened yet, below is a link to my episode ‘Adopt for the Right Reasons’
https://childlessnotbychoice.net/episode-82-adopt-for-the-right-reasons/
My contact information:
Website: https://childlessnotbychoice.net and http://www.civillamorgan.com
Facebook: booksbycivillamorgan
Twitter: @civilla1
Instagram: @joyandrelevance
Pinterest: Civilla M. Morgan, MSM
LinkedIn: Civilla Morgan, MSM
Please help me out by taking this very short survey!
https://survey.libsyn.com/21stcenturyhannah
Thank you for listening to this episode of Childless not by Choice.
I appreciate it!
Until next time! Bye!
I have infertility, but infertility does not have me!
During one of Civilla Morgan’s podcast episodes, I listened as she described writing a list in 2016 of goals she wanted to accomplish in 2017. I like listening to her podcast, the sound of her joyful laughter; and her assurance that a childless not by choice woman can certainly choose to live a relevant and joyful life. There is something special about making a willful choice to be happy, even when there isn’t much to be happy about. 
It caused me to think, and a flash of brilliance lit up my face with a smile! I must tell you what made me smile!
I’ve got infertility, but infertility doesn’t have me – I saw a glimpse of myself in the future, winning the struggle against infertility. NO, I am not going to have a child, adopt, or stop being childless. My triumph is available another way. Before today, I hadn’t seen it.
I have an Aunt, my father’s sister, who suffered PCOS every bit as much as I do. She was able to bear 2 sons with her husband, before their divorce. Eighteen years ago, when I was diagnosed, I reached out to her for advice, but rather than offering me love and guidance, she turned away. Her answer was silence.
Of all my family members, she completely understood the excruciating abdominal cramps, the heavy blood loss tormenting me, but she chose not to use her own experience to help me in any fashion. Even today, my efforts to reach out to her are in vain. I have come to accept her decision. 
My triumph over infertility is to become a loved, trusted, Aunt. I will respond far differently than my aunt did if any of my nieces develop any form of infertility, or my nephews marry women suffering from infertility. I want to live my life so joyfully, that if my nieces must be infertile, they can watch me with admiration and think to themselves, ‘It didn’t break Aunt Carol, and I won’t let it break me, either!’
I am thinking long-term. A decade from now, my nieces will be young teenagers experiencing puberty. Whatever changes are necessary to achieve my goal of meeting this challenge – I will do, and with determination and perseverance.
My Aunt had a golden opportunity to become my heroine, my role model. Her choice to pass up the chance means I get to be the heroine of the story, ladies! I get to create the list of ways I wish she had been available to me and to tailor my behavior to achieve every item on that list, as regards my nieces and nephews.
As I said . . . I have infertility, but as of today, infertility DOES NOT have me!
Episode 83–Infertility and STD’s
Hello everyone! Welcome back to Childless, not by Choice, where my mission is to recognize and speak to the broken hearts of childless not by choice women, and men, around the world. Civilla Morgan here!
I am spreading the great news that we can live a joyful, relevant, and fulfilled life, although we could not, did not, have the children we so wanted.
I would like to thank my Patreon contributor.
- Patreon Contributors: (Patreon contributors are those who have taken an interest in my platform whether they fit the childless not by choice demographic or not. They have decided to contribute a certain dollar amount on a regular basis to help fund my dream of creating awareness and conversation for the childless not by choice community globally. Click the Patreon link for details and to become a Patron!)
https://www.patreon.com/21stcenturyhannah
- Jordan Morgan
Please note: this episode contains mature content.
Well, I decided to do an episode on this subject matter after hearing about this issue on one of my favorite podcasts. I was shocked to find out that a historical figure they mentioned had contracted a sexually transmitted disease and that his wife had several pregnancy losses before eventually having multiple healthy children.
I will not mention the names of these people because this episode is not about them. This episode is for and about the families affected by and most probably not even aware that, STD’s are why the miscarriages and other physical issues are happening.
Please know that I am not condemning anyone. I am simply creating awareness. I want you to know the facts so that you know how to take next steps, how to speak with your spouse and to your doctors in an educated manner. In fact, I am discussing this issue so that you are not possibly spinning your wheels.
Honestly, my heart broke as I heard about this family. And my heart broke as I did the research for this episode. The statistics were earth-shattering. Can you imagine a woman not realizing the reason she may not be conceiving, or the reason she may be miscarrying could be due to an STD? How very, very sad.
Yet another possible speed bump on the journey towards the chance of having a child, for those of you, still trying. But as the saying goes, ‘knowledge is power.’ When you obtain the knowledge, then there is the possibility of a fix, an adjustment; to zig instead of zag.
OK, let’s jump right into the subject at hand:
After hearing of the plight of the aforementioned family, I started researching the possibility of STD’s creating problems for those attempting to get pregnant. And this is the first thing I found in my Google search:
Quote, ‘Chlamydia and gonorrhea are important preventable causes of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and infertility. Untreated, about 10-15% of women with chlamydia will develop PID. Chlamydia can also cause fallopian tube infection without any symptoms. … Most women infected with chlamydia or gonorrhea have no symptoms.’ —Google, October 6, 2017.
As I continued my research, I went to the WHO website, and
According to the WHO, here are some key facts from their Media Centre site:
WHO—World Health Organization Key facts: (From the Media Centre site)
- More than 1 million sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are acquired every day worldwide.
- Each year, there are an estimated 357 million new infections with 1 of 4 STIs: chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis, and trichomoniasis (pronounced trekomoniasis).
- More than 500 million people are estimated to have genital infection with herpes simplex virus (HSV).
- More than 290 million women have a human papillomavirus (HPV) infection1.
- The majority of STIs have no symptoms or only mild symptoms that may not be recognized as an STI. (I believe that is why many women do not realize this is why they keep miscarrying)
- STIs such as HSV type 2 and syphilis can increase the risk of HIV acquisition.
- Over 900 000 pregnant women were infected with syphilis resulting in approximately 350 000 adverse birth outcomes including stillbirth in 20122.
- In some cases, STIs can have serious reproductive health consequences beyond the immediate impact of the infection itself (e.g., infertility or mother-to-child transmission)
- Drug resistance, especially for gonorrhea, is a major threat to reducing the impact of STIs worldwide.
What can you do personally to protect yourself from being a part of these statistics?
- Your sexual health is important—just as important as any other aspect of your health. I know that depending on where in the world you are, some of you have more management over your lives than others, but whatever you can do to protect yourself, please do so.
Next:
- Have a heart to heart with your spouse—whether it is on this subject matter or infertility in general. Make sure you are both on the same page when it comes to next steps. Being able to do this protects both of you from false expectations. Communication is key. And it does not make sense for only one of you to get checked if that is what you decide to do.
- Finally, continue your own research. Only you can decide what your final decision will be. Now that you have the knowledge, use it in wisdom.
Media Centre fact sheet site:
‘What are sexually transmitted infections and how are they transmitted?’
‘Prevention of STIs’
‘Diagnosis of STIs’
Treatment of STIs
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPRH/Resources/STINoteFINAL26Feb08.pdf–See page five of this World Bank PDF to see the global map of how STD’s present.
Research links used for this episode:
https://www.cdc.gov/std/infertility/default.htm
Check out this CDC PDF for details on the CDC’s spotlight on STD’s:
https://www.cdc.gov/std/dstdp/dstdp-stakeholder-report-design_web.pdf
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs110/en/
http://www.ashasexualhealth.org/stdsstis/statistics/
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPRH/Resources/STINoteFINAL26Feb08.pdf
Articles of interest:
My contact information:
Website: https://childlessnotbychoice.net and http://www.civillamorgan.com
Facebook: booksbycivillamorgan
Twitter: @civilla1
Instagram: @joyandrelevance
Pinterest: Civilla M. Morgan, MSM
LinkedIn: Civilla Morgan, MSM
Please help me out by taking this very short survey!
https://survey.libsyn.com/21stcenturyhannah
Thank you for listening to this episode of Childless not by Choice. I appreciate it!
Until next time! Bye!
You are not alone!
When I sought out an online support group to help me with my emotions, I had been dealing with them a very long time. It was long overdue, and I had not been honest with myself about how I truly felt inside. Here is a bit of my story.
At the start of my adulthood, I spent 10 years with a very good man. We were together from the ages of 20 to 30. We were both very career oriented, had great social lives, and were not thinking about children. When I graduated from University, I wanted to invest in my work and my future. I felt if I had children young, it could interfere. In a way, it was a good decision, because after 10 years the relationship ended. It was not an easy time, but it was the right choice. When a couple grows up together, sometimes their paths diverge. We parted ways.
After the split, I spent several years alone before I met my husband who has two sons to whom I am a step-mother. I have a good relationship with them thankfully, of course with normal family ups and downs. They love me and accept me as family. At the end of the day, however, I am not their mom and I will never expect to cultivate that type of attachment with them. I am grateful that they are in my life, and I will always love them.
Despite having my husband’s sons in my life, my husband and I tried to have a child together. It was a difficult decision for him as his kids were older, but he knew how important this was for me, and so he agreed.
I could take you through a long story of miscarriages, an ectopic pregnancy, and emergency surgery. For those who find themselves interested in this content, you have probably gone through these experiences yourselves, but for the reader who has not had to deal with childlessness, l will spare you the difficult details.
At first, I was very pragmatic about it all. The body has a way of eliminating pregnancies that have complications. I rationalized it. Miscarriage was nature’s way of fixing things. I could intellectualize and accept these facts, so we kept trying. After all, miscarriages are common, even if women do not seem to talk about them much. I have a great OB/GYN who was very supportive and encouraging. As time went on, however, and as my age advanced, it became clear that perhaps this wasn’t in the cards for us.
After the final loss, which came with middle of the night life-saving surgery, I made the decision that I was done trying. Between my age, health, and emotional response, it was time to accept things and move forward. It was not a hard decision. It was the right one for me as it came easily because I knew it was time to stop trying. At least I told myself that I was good and forged ahead with life.
What I did not realize was that in my bid to be strong, positive, and constructive with my life – as my own mother had always taught me to be through strife – a grief sat inside me that I ignored. I had feelings of fear, envy, disappointment, and sometimes anger. I pushed that all down inside. I would not accept self-pity. I have a wonderful husband, a fabulous career doing what I love, friends and family around me…there was NO reason for me to dwell. While I told myself I was moving forward, those emotions stood still inside me, like an airplane in a holding pattern waiting to land.
Eventually, those emotions started to make themselves known more easily. If I saw a commercial for baby food or diapers, I would start to cry, sometimes even sob. Commercials about healthy eating and being role models to children would make me change the channel immediately. Anything that had to do with parenting suddenly brought those emotions to the surface and they were intense. Because I ignored them for so long, the emotions were almost explosive. I was alone at home one night watching a movie about a woman who had a miscarriage. I broke down and realized, the feelings weren’t going away. As hard as I tried to accept and to be strong, I had to give these feelings their space and to deal with them.
That’s when I started to look for a support group. 
I needed to connect with others in order validate that this was not just me dwelling on things or feeling sorry for myself. As I began my search for people sharing similar experiences of childlessness, I quickly found Childless not by Choice with Civilla Morgan. Immediately, I realized how many women go through this very challenging life outcome. I read story after story of women feeling EXACTLY like I did! I was not alone, and I had felt completely alone for so long – by my own doing I might add, as I refused to even discuss my journey with anyone. Reading the posts of other women as they shared the very emotions that I was struggling with was incredibly impactful. It lightened the burden somehow.
These emotions, the loss, the mourning, it’s all very personal. But that does not mean that there isn’t a group out there that cannot at least share, even if indirectly, with your pain. That is the point of this very short blog. If you are reading this, and continue to keep those emotions to yourself, being strong, being an Island…stop. Reach out, even if just to read about others, and to support them too. Helping others helps us heal, and others want to do the same by supporting us. There are no circumstances in the world that are so unique that someone isn’t there to share or want you to share and empathize.
If you have ever flown on a plane, the flight attendants always say that if the oxygen mask comes down out of the panel above you, that you should always put your mask on first, before helping others. This is true when it comes to problems in life. You cannot help others if you do not help yourself first. I’ve learned that now, and I am so much better for it. Still sad, and some days still struggle, but never again alone.
Episode 82–Adopt for the right reasons
Thank you for visiting Childless not by Choice.
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Well, my mission is to recognize and speak to the broken hearts of childless not by choice women, and men, around the world. I am spreading the great news that we can live a joyful, relevant, and fulfilled life, although we could not, did not, have the children we so wanted.
- Patreon Contributors: (Patreon contributors are those who have taken an interest in my platform whether they fit the childless not by choice demographic or not. They have decided to contribute a certain dollar amount on a regular basis to help fund my dream of creating awareness and conversation for the childless not by choice community globally. Click the Patreon link for details and to become a Patron!)
https://www.patreon.com/21stcenturyhannah
- Jordan Morgan
As I conducted the research for this episode, I got to thinking, you know, the decision to adopt is like just about any other decision that you make with forethought, common sense, and planning.
I mean what to have for lunch does not take much planning at least for the most part unless you are planning a special lunch.
Planning what route to take to get to a special event may take some research and then some planning, but it should be figured out quickly.
Then decisions can become gradually more difficult. Where to live, should you buy or rent, date this person, marry that person. Those take much more research and planning. At least they should.
But bringing a child into your life via adoption, how much thought should you put into that?
Did you think about the child during the process, the child’s personality, the child’s racial or ethnic background; or were you thinking about getting the funding together to complete the adoption?
Did you think about whether you would tell the child he or she was adopted if he or she was the same race as you?
What if you ended up having a biological baby, would you still love the adopted child the same way?
How would your family treat the adopted child?
Did you think about behavioral issues as the child matured?
Would you feel guilt over regretting that you adopted the child?
When you think about it, it’s much like getting engaged and planning a wedding right? Yeah, I know, I’ve never been married, but indulge me. Allow me to exercise common sense and the marriages I witness daily.
If you are married, did you do any soul-searching, marriage counseling, therapy-seeking, talking to couples who have been married for a million years before you said, ‘I do’? Or did you jump in feet first because it was time?
And in either case, soul-searching or jumping in feet first, did the marriage still have rocky roads, speed bumps, and brick walls, or was it smooth sailing?
Hint: whether you did the pre-marital things or not, there will still be rocky roads, speed bumps, and brick walls. But hopefully, you married someone who is all in, like you. Are you all in for the adoption?
OK, I will let you think about those questions. back to adopting a child. (pause) Well, wait. (pause) Did you consider the child? (pause)
Or did you just consider your feelings, the ones that emanate from within as well as the ones society put upon you? You know, like I mentioned earlier, it is just time and since you can’t have one of your own, you will just adopt.
I know, by now some of you are probably mad at me, calling me a hater because I did not have a child. You know, that one child, that little boy I always talk about. Yes, I thought I would have a little boy. I even had a name picked out for him.
But I will tell you that I also attempted to adopt on two different occasions. So, you may think me a hater. But I will tell you I never considered any of the above questions I mentioned above. I just felt it was time, husband or not, it was time to have a child—of my own or by adoption. Society and my thoughts were weighing on me continually.
There was a battlefield going on in my mind constantly! ‘You know you’re the only one who doesn’t have a child don’t you?’ ‘People are watching you, and the wonder what is wrong with you’. One of my worst thought battles was ‘people feel sorry for you, they are pitying you’. But there were good thoughts too, I really wanted to nurture and train up a child. I wanted to pour into a child so badly. I wanted to read bedtime stories, teach my child how to read especially since I started reading at an early age. I wanted to teach my child how to live in and be able to interact with anyone anywhere. I wanted to teach my child class because we all know you can’t buy class. I wanted to teach him or her that love of family was important, and love of God was foremost.
But none of that happened, because I never had the child, and I never got to adopt.
I only thought about my need to nurture a child. I only thought about how society must have viewed me, and probably still does. Husbandless, childless, weird, non-conformist, anti-establishment. You know the establishment. Get married, have children and ‘settle down’ like normal people.
And when I attempted to explain that I just never met the right man, I would be told to just settle. Just take what I can get and get into alignment with society’s norms. Then I realized I do not owe anyone an explanation.
I am not asking you not to adopt. There are a lot of beautiful children around the world who need love, nurturing, and guidance. I am simply asking you to think about the reasons for your decision to adopt. Consider all aspects of the adoption.
Consider the child.
And then consider this:
What would adopting a child do for you?
What would you do if you were not allowed to adopt—i.e., turned down by an agency, not enough money, not enough income, etc.?
What are your alternatives if you were turned down?
There is a saying here in the US, ‘check your heart’. What is your heart saying about adopting? Really.
Notes and corrections:
The exam was 250 questions with eight hours to finish, not 125 questions.
The verse I was trying to remember: “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”—Luke [6:45]
Content mentioned in the episode:
https://childlessnotbychoice.net/falling-through-the-cracks/
https://childlessnotbychoice.net/elderly-childless-ready/
https://www.pinterest.com/Civilla1/
Links/sites used for research:
https://adoption.com/forums/thread/373947/the-right-reasons-to-adopt/
https://www.babble.com/pregnancy/14-reasons-you-shouldnt-adopt/
Articles of interest:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5463967/Childless-couple-parents-adopt-nine-siblings.html
https://www.tuko.co.ke/267894-they-dont-children-kambua-speaks-trolled-pregnant.html#267894
My contact information:
Website: https://childlessnotbychoice.net and http://www.civillamorgan.com
Facebook: booksbycivillamorgan
Twitter: @civilla1
Instagram: @joyandrelevance
Pinterest: Civilla M. Morgan, MSM (https://www.pinterest.com/Civilla1/)
LinkedIn: Civilla Morgan, MSM
Please help me out by taking this very short survey!
https://survey.libsyn.com/21stcenturyhannah
Thank you for listening to this episode of Childless not by Choice. I appreciate it!
Until next time! Bye!
Living with Endometriosis
Click the link below for details on living with Endometriosis.
10 Tips for living with Endometriosis
http://Be sure it is indeed Endometriosis. Get a second opinion as it has sometimes been diagnosed as IBS—irritable bowel syndrome, among other things.
I am posting the following links so that you can do additional research if you would like. These links can also be found in the show notes of Episode 59—Endometriosis:
- http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/endometriosis/home/ovc-20236421
- http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/gynecological_health/endometriosis_85,P00573/
- http://www.acog.org/
- https://www.cdc.gov/
- https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/womensrh/healthconcerns.html
- http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/gynecological_health/endometriosis_85,P00573/
Civilla M. Morgan
Podcast: Childless not by Choice
Copyright 2017©
(Please do not share or make changes to this information.)
August/September 2017
Is Childlessness a Crisis?
What does crisis mode mean to you? I believe it means something bad has happened or is about to happen to an individual or group of people.
I Googled the word Crisis, and this is what I found:
- a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger.
- “a crisis point of history”a time when a difficult or important decision must be made.
- The turning point of a disease when an important change takes place, indicating either recovery or death.
That last point is intense. ‘…indicating either recovery or death.’ Death is not always literal. Do you think a woman who finds out she will never have a child could go into crisis mode? Do you think she could die without dying, just checking out of the rest of her life?
I asked that question on Reddit, ‘could finding out you will not be able to have children send you into crisis mode?’ I got one response: ‘humbly, no.’
I respect that opinion. But I believe we are all guilty of the fact that we do not think deeply enough about most issues or most questions we are asked. To be fair, I did not ask this on Reddit, but what if the woman’s marriage, livelihood, even her safety, depends on whether she had a child or not? Could it be a crisis then? 
Consider this: A landslide in a faraway land killing hundreds of people is sad. We feel bad for the survivors who lost loved ones and now must rebuild. But unless we were in the middle of that landslide, feeling bad about the situation is about all we can do. Jumping on a plane and going to help any way we could, might be a bit much and most likely unaffordable for most of us. Besides, isn’t that what organizations like The Red Cross is for?
If we think about all the very sad and scary situations going on in the world right now, we could become overwhelmed, maybe even immobilized or depressed, right? Don’t we have enough to deal with in our own lives?
By now you are probably asking ‘what does she want me to do about any of the world’s situations, or about the woman who cannot have children? Good question, because really, what can you do. It is her problem. We can feel sorry for her, but that would be about all we could do. And besides, how is a woman in danger because she cannot have children, why would she be in danger just from being childless?
Most of us do not realize that in 2017, it could be dangerous for a woman to not be able to bear a child. Living in the Western world, a childless woman can, for the most part, go through life unscathed by the shame, fear, and stigma of being childless. She would most likely not be beaten by her husband, divorced, or shamed by her husband’s family. 
Sometimes we miss what is going on in the rest of the world because we are just too busy with our own lives. And to be fair, that is a worldwide phenomenon. We think the rest of the world operates like our world, our country. And honestly, most times we just cannot be concerned with an issue that does not resonate with us. That may be viewed as selfish, but I do not think that is the case. Life is short, and we just cannot pick up the sword for every cause.
But may I suggest that though we cannot pay attention to every issue, every cause, that we can at least be aware. We can put ourselves in that person’s shoes even as we go about our day and about our lives. We could at least empathize. I believe awareness and empathy make us more human. And being more human makes us less mean, less hateful, and even less scornful.
Scorn. Not a word we hear very often. But it tends to happen when we look down on someone who does not could not have the thing or things we have, with contempt. The thing about contempt is that life has a way of taking turns. We could end up in the very situation for which we had contempt.
May I suggest that as we make our way through life, let us remember to be kind, empathetic, and aware.
I Feel Like a Fraud
‘I feel like a fraud.’ That’s what I told my brother. And that’s what I told a very good friend of mine. It was a few days after Mother’s Day here in the US. I had been afraid to verbalize it to anyone because I wasn’t sure what reaction I would get.
How could I possibly be two years into building a platform created to help women who are childless not by choice feel better about themselves? Feel better about their lives? Many of you know, my byline: ‘Living a joyful and relevant life although childless not by choice.’
It all started a few days before Mother’s Day. It always does. I thought I had gotten over the feelings of loss enough to make it through Mother’s Day without feeling like a second-class citizen when the pastor asked all the mothers to stand, as I remained seated. It’s a feeling only childless not by choice women could understand. At least the ones who are not over the pain. Because I hear tell there are childless not by choice women who are ‘over it’.
My brother said, ‘maybe one day you will realize how many people you have helped.’ He just could not understand how I could feel this way after telling him how the platform was finally taking a hold and growing.
My good friend said ‘you are not a fraud. Your primary audience is the women who feel the way you do. How could you talk to them if you did not understand how they feel?’ Then she recounted the multiple organizations and platforms that were created out of someone’s grief. I understood what she was saying. I understood what they both were saying. But will there ever come a Mother’s Day when my heart will be OK with remaining seated while all around me mothers stand up and accept their due recognition? 
How could I possibly encourage childless not by choice people when my heart still breaks on Mother’s Day. It’s not too bad the other 364 days of the year. And I do not want to dim the light of recognition for mothers. After all, I have a mother. And every day I am thankful for her. But the fact is, the way God answered my prayers, my begging, my deal-making, was to not answer. Healing did not come. The adoption did not come. Honestly, I would have been more than OK with never marrying if I had had the child. But to hit a brick wall every turn I took was hard. 
How am I supposed to convince other women that we can live relevant and joyful lives when I still battle sadness and a broken heart? How could I not be a fraud? But I am not. I am not because I battle those feelings and I help the childless not by choice anyway demographic anyway. When I battle and help, I am being transparent. And there is no such thing as a transparent fraud.
