How do we Face the Challenge of Infertility‪?‬ Questions from the Unsettled Mind

I’m writing this question at the outset of Advent, which might seem an odd time with the season’s emphasis on the birth of Jesus to instead write about marital infertility.  However, the Christmas story does not begin with the annunciation, but instead with an infertile couple, Mary’s relative Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah.  So, Advent is exactly the right time to approach this traumatic challenge to married couples.  And a quick note to those who have been fortunate enough to conceive, carry children to term, and birth them into the world, do not pass on this question.  Why?  Because all around you are other couples approaching Christmas yet again with an agonizing longing that they cannot satisfy.  Imagine how difficult your Christmas would be without your children.  So, with the golden rule in mind, listen on.