1104 results for author: Ashlee Schmidt


Saran’s Story

I was about six months pregnant with our first child, a baby boy named Riley. Up until this point it had been a smooth and happy pregnancy. I dealt with those typical pregnancy symptoms, and even though those can drive you crazy, the thought of becoming a mommy was the most beautiful gift that I could have ever been given. On January 17, 2016, my husband and I both started having stomach pains before bed and we naturally thought it was probably something we ate. His pain was gone by morning but mine was intensifying. Nevertheless, I got up and got ready for work, but I was only there for a few minutes when I realized I couldn’t handle the pain ...

Be Patient With One Another: Her Story

Someone has said, “Patience is love on the anvil, bearing blow after blow of suffering.” Long ago, the Apostle Paul expressed it this way: “Be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2).      And in his famous “love chapter” from I Corinthians 13, Paul said it like this:    “Love is patient…”    The first of 15 qualities that Paul ascribes to love is patience. Long-suffering. Literally “long-fused”. Slow to anger. Bearing with another’s imperfections, faults, and differences.  Just a couple of years ago, after 24 years of marriage, Peter and I thought we knew what it meant to “be patient, bearing ...

Be Patient With One Another: His Story

Patience How my wife has shown me great patience during this deep loss Pause: The loss of our little girl caused our lives to pause and stop at a moment in time, a moment that will never be forgotten. I’m reminded of a margin in a book or a comma between words; it’s there for a reason. Watching my hurting bride, Kelly, at this deepest pause God put in our path was the hardest sorrow my heart has felt. Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!” Psalm 116:4 Acceptance: At the beginning of this trial, what my wife and I experienced was more of a shared, mutual state of shock. From the emergency C-section ...

A New Kingdom

Welcome to Hope Mommies In the Word devotionals. Over the next several weeks, we will be narrowing in on specific truths of the gospel to learn how they direct and inform us in our grief. As we study these truths together, we’d love you to use the comments as a place to dialogue with us about what you are learning and share your answers to the questions below. We pray that you hearts will be encouraged as you dig into God's Word each week with us!  By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. Hebrews 11:3 READ: After my daughter went home to ...

Choose Hope 2022: T-Shirt + Candle Fundraiser

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month.  This month is for all of us who call ourselves Hope Moms. Whether we are barely hanging on or we have found hope amidst the heartache, this month is for us. From before the beginning of time, God set our little ones apart to be our children; and though out of our sight for now, our babies are still ours and always will be.  I know it hurts, and I won’t pretend to know why our babies died, but I will pray that even in our darkest moments, as we cry over what was lost, that we will also offer whispers of gratitude and watch them rise up into praise. May we choose to say, “They are Yours, ...

Discussions in Grief: Misunderstood

Grieving involves new emotions and considerations often too many to numbers. When you find yourself in overwhelming grief, you likely feel buried and lost. In this series, we slowly and compassionately look at one aspect of grief at a time from a biblical perspective for the newly grieving mother. Click {here} to read past posts in this series.  “I got back in my car and cried.” It was a text I received from a friend who had recently lost her baby far too soon. I knew exactly what she meant. She had just been at a baby shower for another friend, and had left a little early. When she got back in her car and shut the door, the tears ...

Cidelia’s Story

I conceived for the first time in November 2021. When I found out I was pregnant I was initially scared because I had a dead end job and was barely making any money at all. But that fear soon gave way to excitement as I thought about being a mommy for the first time. I absolutely love babies, and have always wanted children of my own. Growing up, I helped raise my sister, so I knew that raising a baby wouldn’t be easy, but I also knew I was ready.  I felt really at peace as I looked forward to being a first time mom. My husband and I were so excited. We began getting clothes for the baby from my mother and had her dresser all ready for her. Each ...

Serve One Another: Her Story

I arrived at the doctor’s office and was almost immediately called back for my ultrasound. But as the first glimpse of this precious little one appeared on the monitor, I knew in my heart that something was not right. He was not as big as I had expected for being 14 weeks. And he was completely still. Schmidt babies are never still. After a few moments of searching, our ultrasound tech confirmed what I already knew to be true. His heart was not beating, and mine was aching. I was moved into another room to wait to meet with other nurses and doctors who would tell me what to expect in the coming days and weeks. As I sat in the silence, feeling ...

Serve One Another: His Story

Serving One Another I am going to start off by saying that I did lots of things wrong… just ask my wife. It is only by God’s grace that Ashlee and I have been able to serve one another in the midst of loss because we are two sinful people. But God still worked through me as I tried to serve my wife despite all my faults and failures. If this whole “serving one another in grief” thing seems overwhelming, well that’s because it is. But here is the thing: we have God multiplying our work. As you move ahead one step at a time in obedience watch what God will do. Don’t let your past failures and selfishness in your marriage keep you from ...

Evidence of God’s Love

Welcome to Hope Mommies In the Word devotionals. Over the next several weeks, we will be narrowing in on specific truths of the gospel to learn how they direct and inform us in our grief. As we study these truths together, we’d love you to use the comments as a place to dialogue with us about what you are learning and share your answers to the questions below. We pray that you hearts will be encouraged as you dig into God's Word each week with us!  “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of ...