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...
An Immutable God in the Face of Grief
I never wanted to be a statistic. My past experiences volunteering for pregnancy centers and my community of Christian women led me to understand the realities of miscarriage from an early age. And I knew the data – 1 in 4. My husband and I were overjoyed when we...
God’s Healing for Life’s Losses by Robert W. Kellerman
At RLN, we encourage churches to offer care and compassion to people experiencing grief, especially those who are often overlooked, the men and women hurting after reproductive loss. In 1998 GriefShare, a video-based support group formed by Church Initiative was...
Everything In Me Said Abortion is Wrong
Everything in me said abortion was wrong, but I charged forward with really bad advice, from even worse friends, and I went through with it anyway. March 29, 1985 was the day of my most regrettable mistake. I was nineteen years old…
What Grieving People With You Knew about what really helps (and what really hurts) by Nancy Guthrie
You run into an old friend, and as natural as breathing, you ask how she’s doing with a smile. Then, panic strikes you as tears fill her eyes, and she struggles to tell you she’s had yet another miscarriage. Your mind goes blank. Your mouth goes dry – what do you say...
New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp
Wouldn’t it be great to believe today could be an invitation for a fresh start? What if there was a book that offered daily reminders of that possibility? I’d read it! If you thought I was describing the Bible, you’re absolutely right. We should always start there for...