The Experience ~ Tiphanie W. | July 2023
I sit and I think....and when my thoughts are longer than a minute or two, I begin to write. Most of my thoughts are housed between a few journals and some I decide to let out. Why? It is clearly what the people want to know because I get asked so often; How was that? What was that like? And more! There are just some life experiences that I think may help someone else along the way.
My first journey was absolutely for the parents! Their much-needed breath of fresh air! Something I wanted to do for so long but also something they had been working on almost the exact same amount of time. Talk about coincidence! The entire thing from start to finish was beautiful and a miracle. Because of it and the relationship that was created, there was no hesitation to return for more - a subsequent journey.
That second one took me through the fire. Now before your mind hounds in on the word fire, I mean this in a good way. Fire can symbolize the powerful presence of God. His grace and mercy over our lives as we draw near to Him. We've heard songs talking about being consumed with His fire. Oh, there is beauty in the fire yall!
But anyway, because I am not a minister lol, back to my second journey. That journey was absolutely for me! I kept wondering why in the world did it feel so different?? Some parts felt so rushed but in reality, we were unfortunately on a race against time with a number of things. Times I felt so isolated and other times where I felt like I’ve never been closer to the
ones I honestly didn’t know I needed the most. That journey stretched me to capacity! Snatched me right up out of my comfort zone in life. Just when you think you have it all planned out and under control, God will remind you real fast who is in charge! That second journey taught me some lessons. It grew me! And it provided an opportunity for me to do a little healing. I am not ashamed to say I went through about 10 weeks of therapy during that time. And then, in the blink of an eye, it all came to an abrupt end, the pregnancy that is. Not only was a beautiful baby born (early) but also a whole new version of me....and that part of birth was in His timing.
Now, I am not perfect but more so a progress. Quite frankly, aren't we all a work in progress? If not, then you are stagnant, which isn't the best place to be in life. I came out of that journey with a whole new mindset. A whole new appreciation for life, literally because surrogacy is the gift of life. I came out with a voice, even though I thought I was already outspoken. I came out with a heightened spirit of discernment. Like seriously, that is such a powerful gift to have but it is often watered down by the term intuition. And yes, I am intuitive in the natural realm but this is not that! I literally see things and people for exactly what and who they are and that's not always fun. Lastly, I came out of the second journey with this deep sense of passion and drive to do some things that had been on the back burner, just due to life as a wife and mother. Yall know how the old gospel songs would say, "it's like fire, shut up in my bones". Yeah, well that's how I came out and that's how I knew I'd encountered the presence of the Almighty!
Call this a testimony if you will. I've said before, sometimes God will take you on a journey you thought you wanted but never knew you needed! People have seen only the surface level of my experience as a surrogate, but have somehow seen other areas of my life shift over time and tell me or pretty much affirm what I knew to be true to what was happening within me through the deeper level of my experience as a surrogate. But if you follow my snapchat and Instagram, I posted in April of 2022 that I was granting God permission to use me fully, without even consulting me first. No, He doesn't need permission to do anything, but I confessed that out loud and publicly (through my platforms) to remind the enemy who I
belong to. There was so much power in that one sentence. Stuff sounds real cliché until you truly reflect on it.....there is power in the tongue!
I had a classmate and close childhood friend tell me, Tip, you should write a book, girl!! No, I choose to stay in my lane. First of all, I don't want to capitalize off surrogacy. There's already enough of that going around. There is some good and some greed in this industry. The side of greed is what I continually pray for protection from. It is so easy to get caught up in the hype, the glitz and glam, the likes and followers, the fame and fortune. I want no parts.
I pray God continues to keep me rooted, grounded, humble and different. I am set apart with a passion for people that is far bigger than I can contain. This I know!
