I Don’t Want Anyone to Go Through this Alone -episode 163
You take a late bloomer, full of hope and promise. She falls in love at a dinner party and next comes the desire to become a family, and to have children. Sometimes it goes smoothly, easily, and sometimes there are unexpected twists and turns. For Nina Cowan, she got the unexpected kind. Fertility issues. IVF. A miscarriage, a stillbirth and a broken heart.
As you’ll hear Nina was eventually able to birth a daughter who is the light of her life. Spunk and all. After the wild ride Nina endured she felt it was her sweet duty to help others who are going through the same kinds of things. She became a fertility coach. Nina wants to be there for those who need her, and for each woman to know, you are not alone.
Determined. Passionate. Humble.
— Nina Cowan
Be There for Someone
Thoughts from I Don’t Want Anyone to Go Through this Alone
My mom used to play this song by Glenn Yarbrough called “Each of Us Alone.” It had this haunting quality that made me feel SO sad every time I heard it. She used to play one side of a record only so we heard certain songs lots of times. I’m not sure what kind of heartbreak she was looking to mend but my brother and I got to the point where we had a visceral reaction when that song played. I simply could not hear it without wanting to hurl myself off a bridge. Not literally of course. You may remember the dramatics of young girls. The song went, Each of us alone, apart, Each of us alone. Over and over. Beautiful on some level sure, but far too gut-wrenching for my taste.
We are, each of us alone even when we are surrounded by others. No one can go feel your feelings or go through pain for you. No one can take suffering away. Oh, if only. There have been times when I would have traded with another if only I could. I would have taken their distress and made it my own. I think that tends to be a parent thing. Maybe there are other times too. Whenever there is deep love and commitment, we simply don’t want our loved ones to agonize.
When I think about Nina and how she doesn’t want people with fertility challenges to go through their hurtful journey alone, it got me realizing how important it is we are there for one another in whatever way we can be. I think it is one of the reasons we go through the things we do. The hard things. The painful times you cannot imagine ever recovering from. Once over the hump from my hardest seasons I’ve wanted to be there for others. It doesn’t always have to be the exact thing the person went through, although sometimes it’s more helpful because you know. You’ve been there. You want to share in it because you get it.
What is it that you get? How are you taking what you’ve been through and reaching out to help another? As I’ve written about in these pages, I too have been through hard things, and they will keep coming. I rely on my faith to help me get through for sure. No idea how I could get by without it. Thankfully I don’t have to. And I believe God has placed all kinds of people into my life to be there for me, and for me to be there for them.
That’s how the podcast came to be. I wanted to speak out and encourage anyone, and everyone listening, to get to know themselves. To find out what makes you, you, to discover your passion, marry it to intention and find your purpose in this life. And in that you very likely will be helping someone else feel less alone. Life will be richer and you will be glad you did. I promise.
Help someone else feel less alone.
— RCN
We are there for Tay who is going through a hard season
