“As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never tire from doing what is good.” – 2 Thessalonians 3:13
When I think about building a better world, I cannot help but think about my little sister, Tessa. Right now, she is in her third and final year of law school. That itself is a mountain to climb. However, it is not her only uphill battle. She is also enduring the quiet, but unruly disease of endometriosis. From the outside, she looks happy and healthy, but on the inside her body is attacking itself and causing intense pain. Some days are good, some days are bad, and some days are ugly. Nonetheless, she has persevered through the pain and the ups and downs of infertility issues that endometriosis is causing for her. Her future in getting pregnant and carrying a child of her own is unknown and proving to be difficult. Again, through all this, she has worked hard and done very well in law school.
Tessa could choose to let this keep her down and be a very good reason to postpone law school, but she has done the opposite. She took the opportunity in law school to teach others about endometriosis and how the U.S. is behind on caring for this invasive disease in women. How might you ask? To graduate law school every student must complete an upper-level writing requirement. Some take a contract drafting class that will get the job done, but Tessa decided to write a 25-page paper with hopes that it will go for publication in the OCU law review journal. Yes, amid pain and sorrow, she went above and beyond to use her platform to hopefully reach more people, and maybe even law makers, to help those battling endometriosis.
Her paper hits on a lot of the unknowns about endometriosis, how it can affect a woman’s ability to work, and the high cost of navigating this disease. She has had four surgeries to clean out the endometriosis. Within these surgeries, she has had to have her appendix, gallbladder, and right ovary removed due to endometriosis causing adhesions, infections, and severe pain. Can you imagine trying to keep a job while navigating this? On top of that, she has had to undergo various infertility treatments in hopes to have a child. All of it quite expensive. Tessa has been blessed with a family that can help her and care for her. However, she cannot stop thinking about those women enduring this alone. She is determined to see some laws put into place that help support the health and wellness of women battling endometriosis. Tessa is a strong, intelligent woman battling a silent but brutal disease all while completing law school, trying to make it a better world for all her endometriosis warriors. Tessa, my incredible sister and friend, is building a better world.
“My goal is to spread awareness about endometriosis so the young women after me will have the knowledge to face the hard decisions and the resources to prevent permanent chronic pain.” Tessa Clinton, Candidate for Juris Doctor, 2022
We each have personal challenges that we have gone through or are going through. God’s grace helps us to navigate our struggles. When we take the lessons we have learned, the pain we have endured, and the grace we have received, and share it with others, we move from surviving to helping others to thrive. When we consider others, their pain, and their challenges, and we offer them grace, we are working to build a better world.
– Sarah Cohea, Edmond Campus Director of Youth Ministry
