Cling to the Cross
top view of cross shape from ash on white table
Death has shaken your soul to its core. Mine too.
When I first heard the words, “I’m sorry, there’s no heartbeat,” it seemed like my life was being siphoned out of me. I strained to take in each new breath of air, and as I looked up at the monitor, staring at the stillness of my baby, I felt as though I was watching someone else’s nightmare unfold before my eyes. In that moment, death seemed to consume me.
The death of your child is an excruciating heartache that alters the course of your life.
There may be times when it seems as though you are being crushed and overcome by the weight of death. Perhaps you feel as if you will never escape its grim shadow—that joy will never be able to pierce through the cloud of grief that death has caused in your life.
Ever since sin came into the world, it has been what we all deserve. You and I deserve the full wrath of God. Because of sin, our just punishment is death and separation from our Creator. But God, in His great love, did not leave us without hope. He made a way for our redemption. Christ’s death on the cross, rewrote the course of history.
On this day—Good Friday—we remember when the Savior of the world died the death we deserve so that in Him we might be given new life.
Dear one, Jesus took your place.
When your heart aches to hold your precious baby who has gone home before you, look to the cross. Because of Christ, your little one is safe in the loving hands of God. The Son of God was tortured, ridiculed, and put to death in order to offer you His forgiveness and cover you with His righteousness. Jesus’ death on the cross made it possible for you to be redeemed. His death cancelled the debt you owed because of sin, and satisfied the wrath of God.
As devastating as it feels to be separated from your child on earth, rest in the hope that your baby was given victory over death and has received everlasting life and fulness of joy in the presence of our great God. Through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, the door was open for your beloved children to received everything that is lovely, joyful, and perfect. They are enjoying the pleasure and goodness of God’s eternal presence!
So, when the sorrow that you carry feels too great to bear, take heart and remember that the penalty you deserve has been paid for you. Not only this, but death has been defeated! Our death—your baby’s death—was overturned through the finished work of Christ. And when He returns, death will meet its final end.
“He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces.” -Isaiah 25:8a
“The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” -1 Corinthians 15:26
“And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” -Revelation 21:4
And so, onthis Good Friday and on every day to come, cling to the cross and the empty tomb that followed. For it is there that our brokenness is mended, our greatest needs are met, and our hope is found, because death was swallowed up in victory!
- Ashlee
Hope Mom to Simeon and Odelle
Ashlee is the Editorial Coordinator for Hope Mommies and author of I AM (Hope Mommies, 2017) and Identity (Hope Mommies, 2018). She and her husband, Jesse, live in Milwaukee with their children—five on earth and two in heaven.
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