Fertile Myrtle

Have you ever heard of a "Fertile Myrtle?" Women, don't get offended. The baby-making machine reference isn't a criticism. Productivity should be a compliment. After all, didn't God make man in His image to go and multiply? If you're a Fertile Myrtle, rejoice! You are fulfilling the call of God.
Unfortunately, forum posters on Thebump.com don't necessarily agree with my positive spin on Myrtle and her fertility. They claim that Fertile Myrtle was originated by anti-feminist, Leave it to Beaver watching macho men. The term actually originated from a retired b-bomber. The military vessel had a stork graphic painted on the side of the engine complete with a wicker basket in beak. Someone with a quirky sense of humor named the bomber "Fertile Myrtle," painted the name across the plane's engine and the rest is reproductive history.
Now a Fertile Myrtle isn't a bomber, its a female with a healthy pregnancy history and slew of offspring. Apparently this is offensive to some women although I can't understand why. The ability to procreate is a beautiful gift. For women who have no trouble reproducing, they may not recognize the immense blessing it is to carry in their being new life. They take it for granted.
The women who've never had to think twice about their ability to have a child might not realize that every step along the way to bringing a child into the world is a glorious gift. It begins with the relationship between the woman and her man. That union symbolizes companionship, love and togetherness. From there a deeper, immeasurable unity is developed between mother and her developing baby.
What Fertile Myrtle haters don't understand is the alienation and lonesomeness that comes from infertility. They overlook the blessing that is a functioning reproductive system because they can't comprehend life without it. But for those of us who will never carry a child we understand that there is a loneliness that comes from being incapable of giving life. Something feels dead inside. Where others enjoy life and the giving of it, the infertile feel an emptiness.
The blessing of procreation is about more than the nine months a mother spends carrying her child. It is about the unity of hearts and bodies. It is togetherness. It is connection.
If I could tell the Fertile Myrtles of this world one thing it would be this: don't take your gift for granted. Treasure the health and vitality God has placed within you. Even if you never choose act on it, don't overlook what an immense blessing you have within you. 
And if you're like me, not fertile and not named Myrtle, take heart. God blesses with two kinds of fertility: the fertility of the body and the fertility of the spirit. For those of us who will are incapable of reproducing, our capacity to give and enjoy life need not be dead. We can still have a fertile spirit if only we will ask God to impart that blessing in our hearts. Unlike fertility of the body, fertility of the spirit is a choice we make. It is not dependent on how our body's function or what our organs do on a monthly basis. Spiritual fertility depends on our daily submission to God and our unwavering confidence and obedience in His will and ways. When we invite God into our hearts without condition or hesitation He comes in and makes us procreate with His love. He'll use our fertile hearts to share His grace and the goodness of His salvation.
When you and I, physically fertile or not, ask God to have His way in our souls, He will make each of us spiritually Fertile Myrtles.