Can you imagine yourself single, homeless with three children under the age of four, in the middle of a Canadian winter, with no one to call? What about if you’ve just arrived in Canada from your own dangerous country, but you’ve landed in hospital needing surgery, with no one to take care of your two school aged children? Think of a crisis you have been through and think about who you had to lean on for support. Who are the people you may have had on speed dial to help talk

I am somewhat ashamed to admit that when I first learned that the theme of the Jubilee Year was “hope”, I just about physically gagged. My relationship with the idea, the virtue, the gift of hope, after 10+ years of infertility… let’s just say it’s a bit rocky.

The call to surrender – to let go  and let God – is woven into the very fabric of our identity as Christians; but it is known in a particular way by those women bearing the burden of infertility. Those of us who have experienced the agony of being unable to conceive when it is the deepest desire of our hearts know without a doubt what it means to yield to a reality we cannot control.  I think that’s why, at one point in my journey, “surrender” became a trigger word for me. It