Cul-de-sacs and Bridges
A Christian blogger I follow recently posted a heartbreaking update to living with her painstaking illness. What was hard to read was the profanity in her post title and the absence of Scripture in her lament. She said (in a few more words) that she was not suffering...
When Empty Arms Become a Heavy Burden: Encouragement for Couples Facing Infertility by Sandra Glahn & William Cutrer, MD
I initially read When Empty Arms Become a Heavy Burden: Encouragement for Couples Facing Infertility to enhance my knowledge of infertility as I support people navigating through it. I was pleasantly surprised by Glahn’s open honesty regarding her own experiences and...
Held by Abbey Wedgeworth
We at RLN are compulsive readers, especially books on reproductive loss and grief. A large part of this is because we want to refer to rich, Bible-based books that will give you tools to help comfort others during seasons of grief. This week, I found a gem of a book I...
Comforting Others in Our Weakness
Recently, I met with a friend who shared the loss of her granddaughter, who died at 20 weeks in utero. As we sat in our local sandwich shop, we cried together over the loss of the baby, the grief she shared with her daughter and son-in-law, and the dreams she and her...
What is Reproductive Loss?
My colleague, Tanya, and I travel quite a bit for work as we speak at seminars, attend conferences, and provide training. On any given flight, we are asked where and what we do, and I can tell you, it’s not always sexy for others to learn that we are reproductive...
Stay Planted Where Placed
Last week a friend stopped by for a visit, saw my plants, and offered some advice. The need was evident. One of my succulents sits with its overgrown stalk resting on the kitchen window, like a child smooshing its face into the glass. Across the counter sits a...
Welcome to the Shadows
This submission is from a dear friend who expresses the grief of her reproductive loss journey through poetry. It lingers in the shadows.It remains just under the surface.Present on every major occasion,holiday and transition.If we are not carefulwe can miss it all...
Opting Out of Mother’s Day
At the beginning of April, I received an email from a jewelry retailer that surprised me. The subject line immediately caught my eyes: "Rather not receive Mother's Day emails?" I opened it to read the full text, "we understand that this time of year isn't easy for...
His Hands and Feet
It started out like any other pregnancy. A positive test. Excitement. Fatigue. Nausea. With a history of miscarriage, pregnancy for me always came with a considerable amount of anxiety as well. An early ultrasound at 7 weeks showed...