1104 results for author: Ashlee Schmidt

More of Him

As I look back over the past four years since I first began this painful journey through loss, I realize that I have experienced more of Jesus than I would have been ready to embrace had I not walked through this valley of grief. Because this valley has led me straight to the heart of God, and it has been because of this sorrow that I have been able to, in some small way, identify with Christ’s sorrow. These four years have pushed me further and deeper into the embrace of my loving God, and into a position of deep security and peace in the arms of the One who knows what it feels like to be weighed down by grief and pain. So even in this place where ...

In the Word: God is Faithful

Welcome to Hope Mommies’ In the Word devotionals. Over the next several weeks, we will be looking at different characteristics of God—specifically reflecting on how each aspect of His character offers us hope in the midst of our grief.  As we study together, we encourage 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 the infinitely beautiful character of God along with us!  “For the word of the Lord is upright, and all His work is done in faithfulness.” Psalm ...

Q: Can I Pray to My Baby?

This Q&A series is intended to help you take steps forward in wisdom. Lay your questions before Scripture with us; find in the ashes that wisdom “will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown” (Prov. 4:9). What questions about grief, God, or the Bible do you have right now? Contact us here.  So often when we have a loved one die, it is very common to hear words like, “I know they are looking down and watching over us.” While this may seem comforting, is it accurate? Are our babies in heaven watching over us? Do they see us? Can we pray to them? Can I Pray to My Baby in ...

Meg’s Story

I got into my car, shaking, and responded to my doctor’s voicemail requesting me to call her personal line so that I might talk to her that evening. That Friday evening. A week prior to this, I had chosen to take a voluntary, non-invasive blood test on a whim, and some results were flagged. My doctor mentioned words I had never heard, and I scrambled to write anything down on the back of the one receipt I found. It was my first brush with such grief. I had experienced some loss before, and had already had a few rocky appointments with my OB. But five days later, I walked into an ultrasound room, watched my sixteen-week-old baby kick and flip ...

Known

“Imagine a priceless vase or ornament is dropped on the floor and smashed to pieces. The woman who loved it kneels down. She picks up the pieces, one by one. She looks at each one in detail, turning it round, as if to remember where it once belonged. The vase was loved and so when it was shattered, every piece was worth picking up, no matter how small. A grieving person will often want to talk about the smallest detail of their loss. It is as if every broken piece is taken up and wept over. When you listen, you may feel that the detail was small, but it is part of something that was supremely valued, part of something dearly loved” (Colin ...

In the Word: God is Holy

Welcome to Hope Mommies’ In the Word devotionals. Over the next several weeks, we will be looking at different characteristics of God—specifically reflecting on how each aspect of His character offers us hope in the midst of our grief.  As we study together, we encourage 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 the infinitely beautiful character of God along with us!  “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and ...

Adopting After Loss

Each child gone ahead from among us is a precious person made in the image of God—and all having been made into Hope Moms, we together declare motherhood in each of our journeys. We are eager to go above and beyond in showing honor and love for one another (Rom. 12:10, 15). Through this series, we honor each other’s experiences of motherhood in love through our shared God of hope. When my husband, Kevin, and I married nearly 6 years ago, we both knew that we wanted adoption to be a part of our how our family would form. But like many families, how adoption came into our world was quite different than what we had anticipated. After losing ...

Year Five Prayer

Dear Father, Thank You for loving Noelle perfectly, and more than I possibly could. Thank You for knowing her before that positive pregnancy test changed our lives. Thank you for the hope you have saved her from all sin and from much pain in this life. Thank You that though I sit and sob, she has never not seen Your glory and love. Thank You for remembering my tears, each bleeding drop for her. You hold my heart in the same hands that hold my sweet girl. I have wanted to do something beautiful—to remember, treasure, and serve. But I know it is You who have given us more than we deserve. Christ’s cross we both hold high, in heaven and in ...

In the Word: God is Good

Welcome to Hope Mommies’ In the Word devotionals. Over the next several weeks, we will be looking at different characteristics of God—specifically reflecting on how each aspect of His character offers us hope in the midst of our grief.  As we study together, we encourage 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 the infinitely beautiful character of God along with us!  “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!” Psalm 34:8 READ: God is ...

My Strength in the Sorrow

In the early days following each of my losses, people would often comment on how “strong” I was in the midst of my grief—as if I accomplished some amazing feat. But if they could have seen into my heart, they would have quickly discovered how wrong they were. I was weak, confused, lonely, and broken—not strong. Each grieving mother carries her own unique fears, burdens, and heartaches; and while we all long for the strength to endure the grief and pain that have become a part of our stories, what we each envision that strength to look like can be vastly different from one woman to the next. Some of us think that to be strong in grief means ...