Identity confusion can be defined in many ways
Courtney Privette
Identity confusion can be defined in many ways, but for this assignment, it is supposed to be explained by my feelings and thoughts. I will discuss a time when I was confused with my identity. While doing the reading, one of the contemporary issues that stuck thoughts I had previously on the road to having children is the essay by Stephen and Brianne Bell on In Vitro Fertilization. In August of 2007, my husband and I decided it was time to start our family and miraculously we became pregnant our very first month of trying to conceive. We were over the moon and our families were thrilled. I had an appointment where the pregnancy was confirmed and dated in September and we made our next appointment for October. I woke up bleeding the day of my appointment in October and I was so scared. My sister (who is a physician) reassured me that many women bleed at times during their pregnancy. When we went that afternoon, the ultrasound showed our baby had no heartbeat. My doctor thought maybe we had dated the pregnancy wrong, but I knew I was supposed to be 10 weeks. He did bloodwork and two days later more bloodwork with an ultrasound, which confirmed what I already knew was happening, our baby was not viable. I was devastated. We opted to have a D&C and my doctor said we were young and healthy and we could try again whenever we felt ready and we would immediately do bloodwork. We decided to try again right away, we again got pregnant the first month we tried and then we did everything the doctor recommended. Only to learn 2 weeks later, this was not a viable pregnancy again. No heartbeat. I was devasted and angry. I was teaching middle school at the time and had two pregnant 7th graders. How could they have a baby and I could not? I remember the anger and the bartering with God about having a baby. After routine tests and bloodwork, it was confirmed that I had a medical condition known as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, which causes infertility and miscarriages. We tried many medical procedures and medications to try and conceive. I did have someone say to me that we were playing God since we were using science to try and have a baby. It made me think, was I playing God? Maybe he knew I shouldn’t have children. There were a lot of emotions and medications, and luckily, we did conceive fraternal twin daughters with the use of fertility treatments and prayer. During this time, I do remember struggling with were we temping fate? Were we playing God? It caused me to really struggle with myself and with Science. The Bells essay (2017) discuss that Christians objection to IVF falls that the participants are seizing God’s prerogative to create life and seek to manipulate circumstances outside of their control. Then my father-in-law (who was a United Methodist minister) said to us when we had this conversation with him during the next couple of years as we tried for a year and a half to begin our family, that God made us curious, he gave us Science, and why would he allow us to think and discover if he didn’t want us to use it? Then I realized, God made us in his image. He knows everything. He wants us to learn and develop, he wants us to be like him. He gave us the world to learn and find ourselves. I truly believe that he gave us the power to learn about ourselves and he will give us the power to overcome confusion when we seek him and the truth. In the essay by the Bells (2017) in the textbook Cultural Engagement by Chatrow and Prior (2019), they say that it is important for humans to be free to pursue happiness through the means made by science and technology. I like that in this essay they say that God created humans with curiosity and the drive to understand and create (2017). I identify that if God did not want use to use scientific advances and technology, then he would not have given us the knowledge on it, whether that is IVF or chemotherapy or whatever medications that make life or prolong life. I know I struggled with it, but I feel I see it clearer now. I believe anyone can be confused about their identity and roles in society, but with prayer and scripture we can get a clearer picture from God on our lives and the choices we make with his guidance.
As the granddaughter of two Polish immigrants that came to America in the 1920s, I totally agree with hospitality to immigrants. My grandfather came to America by himself with no family as a teenager, looking for the American dream. My great grandparents came over to America pregnant with my grandmother. Eventually, my grandfather met and married my grandmother and began their family. Had their journeys not been supported and received in love through the hospitality of family and friends when they arrived in America, how different my life would be. God saw it that they were given love, prayer, and jobs to be successful in America. After marrying, my grandfather worked hard in the coal mines of Virginia to support his family, even after an explosion that left him with PTSD. I do believe that God’s guidance on loving one another is a part of Christianity and that it extends to our immigrant friends. My grandfather’s last name was changed when he came through Ellis Island to not be so Polish. I know he struggled with his identity, and he was very proud to become an American citizen. I think we should help immigrants to be successful when they arrive to the US. Let’s extend our hand in love and prayer, guiding them to be successful in America. We should help provide them with housing until they can find one that they can support themselves after becoming employed. In the essay by Dong and Lowe (2019), they talk about Jesus being an immigrant himself, and that Jesus taught that those who fail to welcome strangers in their midst will face judgement, and those that welcome a stranger are welcoming Christ himself. I really feel like as Christians, we should be welcoming, helping them get started in America with food, shelter, and guidance, so they can become self-sufficient. In the Human Services field, our goal is to help everyone become self-sufficient.
Bell, S., & Bell, B. (2017). In Vitro fertilization is pro-life. Reproductive Health: Infertility FAQs. CDC.gov, March 30, 2017. https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/infertility/index.htm/.
Chatraw, J. D., & Prior, K. S. (2019). Cultural engagement: A crash course in contemporary issues. Zondervan Academic.
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