1104 results for author: Ashlee Schmidt
Joy is Possible
I sat down at the kitchen counter with my Bible and prayed "Lord, show me the verse. Your word is so rich, so full of truth, that I don't even know where to begin. Lead me to the verse that will be etched on my son's gravestone. The verse that will point me to you, that will become our family's theme, so to speak."
And as I flipped through my Bible, eyes scanning, I stopped at Psalm 16:11.
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16:11 (NIV)
Tears dripped from my eyes as I read it again and broke it down, bit by bit.
God has written my ...
Finding True Joy
Rejoice. Be glad. Delight.
Friend, do these words describe you in the midst of your grief? Or does the mere mention of the word rejoice cause you to scoff? Perhaps, sad, downcast, and burdened feels more accurate. It is entirely natural, perhaps even normal, if rejoicing seems like the last thing of which you’re capable. The loss of our children is certainly not a thing in which we rejoice. And the pain of that loss can create a fog of sadness so deep we often can’t see through it. The things in which we once found joy now seem hollow; joy and happiness seem elusive.
But even in our grief, there is a place in which we can rejoice. A place ...
Pray For One Another: Her Story
"Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble.
But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and
not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference."
- Max Lucado
I’ve always thought of my husband as having a heart of gold. He is my best friend, my soulmate, and the one who always seems to make things right. I could listen to him read Scripture and encouraging words all day if I could. My sweet man has a way with words and I am loved so well by him.
When we fell in love and knew we wanted to get married, we both agreed that premarital counseling was the best first step. Our spiritual walks were at an all time ...
Pray For One Another: His Story
It's been said before, you really can't understand somebody's pain until you walk through it yourself.
As men, we are wired to try to fix things. However, the loss of our son was something I could not fix. I remember standing in the delivery room and looking at Nelly as the nurse said, "Your water broke." I called for the doctor. My mind kept racing. "No God! No God! This is not what we had planned! Corbin is not going to make it! It's too early for him!”
With all of our family in the waiting area, we welcomed Corbin into this world on March 27, 2014 at 5:38pm. Our precious Corbin lived for two hours and three minutes. I suddenly was in disbelief ...
A Prayer For The One Who Mourns
On this day set aside to remember the lives of our babies who have gone home ahead of us, my heart is aching alongside yours. I wish that October 15 did not hold this remembrance of sorrow for you. But it is my prayer that in the midst of your grief today, you will also see the unfading beauty of the hope of Christ pierce through the darkness.
A Prayer For The One Who Mourns
O Lord
You know the ache of my heart.
You see my suffering and draw near.
As I drink from this stream of sorrow, I turn to You.
What began as joyful anticipation has crumbled into an unsung song.
A story, never to be told.
You are familiar with the void that has been ...
The Comfort of God’s Counsel
I remember that night like it was yesterday. I was seven months pregnant with our second boy and we had been praying constantly for a miracle. Each appointment provided further evidence supporting his diagnosis, but we continued to pray for God to intervene. That night began like so many nights before. I prayed once again for God to spare my son’s life and drifted off to sleep.
This night, however, I had a vivid dream about Thatcher and his death. I awoke sweating and screaming, one of those guttural screams that only comes with deep anguish. In that moment I heard Satan whispering that it was okay to hate God, but I refused. I sat there in the ...
I Will Not Be Shaken
I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand,
I shall not be shaken.
-Psalm 16:8
I have set the Lord always before me. That sounds kind of churchy and odd, doesn’t it? Who talks like that? I think David was saying, “I’m keeping my focus on the Lord. I’m putting Him first and looking to Him in all things.”
We all have things in our lives that bring us to what I call the faith barrier. It’s what makes us question if God is there, if He cares about us, if He loves us, and if He really is a good, good Father. We wonder how God could let our child die (or another devastating event) if He really cares and is good. I ...
Love One Another: Her Story
I watched from the window as he helped our oldest daughter hang a hand-painted sign on our backyard fence. It said: “We Love You, Chase.” This sign was my daughter’s decoration for our son’s “celebration of life.” Our baby’s funeral was something I never dreamed we would host in our backyard that autumn of 2009.
Our lawn was perfectly manicured and had been transformed with a rainbow of color displayed in planted flowers, balloons and painted decorations. My sweet husband had made this happen, after listening to me cry and brainstorm and wonder about Chase’s service through a sleepless night, just a few days before.
This act ...
