It’s very hard to ‘leave your troubles at the office’ when you are going through infertility.
Shot timelines, cycle protocols, ultrasound appointments, and sample delivery urgency make it easy to become consumed by the process.
That’s exactly why you need a trouble tree.
I heard about this in a Joel Osteen sermon.
A foreman and one of his workers were out on a construction job and had a bad day.
He over some nails at a construction site, ruined some expensive tires, and capped off a pretty unproductive day.
The foreman invited his worker over for dinner, and when they got to the door, the foreman did something kind of weird.
He rubbed his hands on the leaves of a tree just around the corner.
When the foreman went inside, the most amazing thing happened.
He lightened up immediately, hugging his wife, being present for his kids. It was as if the bad day had never happened.
When the worker asked him about the tree, and the change in his mood when he walked in, the foreman kind of laughed.
“That’s my trouble tree. I’ve learned to leave all that stuff outside the house.”
It may not be possible to leave infertility outside the house like that, but you can certainly shut it out a few hours a day. Or at least a half hour.
Relaxation tapes became our trouble trees.
Once I got past my skepticism about their value, I found an incredible sense peace for the 1/2 hour I focused on my breathing.
To this day I still use those tapes to gain perspective amid those moments of sheer chaos that seem to hit at the most unexpected times.
So the next time it’s getting out of control, and you are frozen in what seems like a moment of perpetual hell, give the trouble tree a try.
You might find some of those flames rub off enough to allow you a moment of much needed peace.