Posts Tagged ‘Grief’
Prayers & Resources for Pregnancy After Loss
A Prayer for Pregnancy After Loss God of hope and healing, Help me to trust again. I know this is a new story, A different pregnancy, Another baby. But my heart still aches for the one I lost. I struggle to believe this journey Could end in goodness. Walk with me each day of this…
Read MoreA Prayer for the Mothers Who Have Lost a Child
Abba Father, Our eyes are filled with tears, our bodies are weary, our hearts are angry, and we’re just so sad. We can’t seem to put together the incomplete pieces of a life that is so broken without our children. Lord, help us to remember that You hear our cries, You see our tears, You…
Read MoreLoved, Not Forgotten
I find out I’m expecting again in March of 2021. Two bright pink lines on a pregnancy test stare back at me in our bathroom. I count nine months forward to a due date in November. November, a month for cinnamon and cloves, sweater weather, and now, my second child’s birthday. My breath catches. I…
Read MoreThe God of Wailing and Rocking
For a few days before and after my youngest child’s sixth birthday, I was very emotional. I couldn’t stop sobbing in the little moments of my day. It was mildly alarming, until, of course, I softened enough for a memory to resurface. “How long has it been since you’ve held your baby?” the nurse asked,…
Read MoreSupporting Yourself (Or A Friend) Through Miscarriage
Miscarriage may be the most tragic or traumatic loss you have faced thus far. You might feel resentful or depressed; you may be struggling with your faith or in your marriage. You likely do not want to hear anyone else’s opinion on your situation or your grief. But you still have to interact with others…
Read MoreOur Lady of Hot Messes Excerpt
Life is so crazy. I used to think that I was doing it all wrong, that because I hadn’t figured out the secret code that every one else seemed to know, God was not interested in helping me with my life. I grew up going to a First Baptist Church in a small, rural south Texas town. I…
Read MorePrayer After Miscarriage
FOR THE WEEK AFTER MISCARRIAGE “Out of the depths I call to you, Lord; Lord, hear my cry!” (Ps 130:1–2) God of mercy, hear our prayer. From the depths of our grief, answer us. Our hearts break at the loss of our child. Our minds struggle to understand. Just days ago we held the hope…
Read MoreCalled by the Swiss Alphorn Into the Arms of the Creator
Three years into living in picturesque Switzerland, I sat in a warm bath on a hot August afternoon trying to ease miscarriage contractions. I soaked in discomfort, both physically and mentally. Once again I found myself at the end of my rope, stuck at the bottom of a deep, dark pit that I didn’t have…
Read MoreLingering on Saturday: As a Hen Gathers Her Brood
I lean back at the bottom of the blue plastic slide, aware of my hair sticking to the static, the sandburs piercing the soles of my shoes, and our English words echoing off the wall that lines the perimeter of the park, our clunky foreignness flittering up to the open windows. The playground in this…
Read MoreWhat to Do After a School Shooting
Today’s parents in the United States are regularly confronted with the horror of yet another school shooting. Each time this happens, we feel angry and anguished, grieving the tragedy and overwhelmed by what this means for our own children. Our faith compels us to cry out against violence and evil. God promises to hear our…
Read MoreA Prayer for A School Shooting
Again. Again. Again. Again. How long? How long. How long By what we have done And what we have failed to do, We have our children’s blood on our hands. Hear our cry, God of Justice. Heal our wounds, Prince of Peace. Help our brokenness, Spirit of Truth. We cannot live like this.Which is why…
Read MoreBecoming Mama Bear: How losing my husband introduced me to a ferocious divine love
When our children were young, my husband Rob and I often took them for hikes in the nearby Cascade Mountains outside our home in Seattle. Home to approximately 20,000 black bears, Washington’s mountains required a healthy respect for wilderness, and we taught our kids how to do it. A hearty “Hey, bear!” alerted furry neighbors…
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