Links for Hope Moms: March Edition
{"Today Would Have Been Our Daughter's First Birthday," by Jackie Gibson via The Gospel Coalition}// "Today should have been our daughter’s first birthday. The great enemy—death—has stolen something precious from us. Robert L. Dabney, who lost two sons, described death as a 'cruel destroyer.' In a letter to his brother, he wrote: 'Ah! When the mighty wings of the angel of death nestles over your heart’s treasures, and his black shadow broods over your home, it shakes the heart with a shuddering terror and a horror of great darkness.' [...] And yet today was ...
Sam’s Story
2016 began with great joy as my husband and I celebrated our first pregnancy—one that quickly ended in miscarriage on January 14, around 7-8 weeks. I had never felt devastation, disappointment, and pain like I experienced over that next several weeks as I grieved a child I had never known.
A few months later, we were again expecting. At 12 weeks, we learned that we were having a son and that he likely had Down Syndrome. We were overwhelmed by fear of the unknown and sadness for what we thought would be a difficult life for our son. As we waited for additional scans to ...
Julie’s Story
In the Stillness
There’s a worship song that I use to sing quite often back in my high school youth group days. You might be familiar with it. The opening lyrics say,
“In the secret, in the quiet place
In the stillness You are there.
In the secret, in the quiet hour I wait,
Only for You, ‘cause I want to know you more…”
I had always thought of those lyrics as a portrait of the author rising early in the morning before the hustle and bustle of the day, cracking open her bible and waiting for the Lord to blow down fresh fire with His word. The Lord, ...
Katie’s Story
Our lives were forever changed when our twin girls, Anna and Ella, were born the morning of July 19, 2015 at 27 weeks. Anna was born at 3:31 am and weighed 1 lb. 15.9 ounces and Ella was born at 3:32 am and weighed 1 lb. 15.8 ounces. They were both immediately taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and we were told to expect them to remain in the hospital for at least 13 weeks (until their due date).
We knew we had a long road ahead of us but we were hopeful they would both come home with us. I am a pediatric nurse practitioner so I made it my full-time ...
Andi’s Story
I believe our mess is our message and often, and as a result of experiencing difficult things, we can be a light to those around us who walk the same path. Our first loss was over 8 years ago. I copied many of my original words to share our story.
A few days after a routine (30-week) ultrasound, we were called into the doctor's office for another ultrasound. We went in and our doctor showed us some physical abnormalities that Addie had. We were really nervous and not sure how optimistic to be. He sent us to a specialist. The specialist pointed out a few more things ...
Kara’s Story
I went to the doctor because I had been feeling sick for a couple of days, and my husband Jerimy urged me to go. To my shock and amazement, I was pregnant. I cried big, happy tears at the thought of a third child.
Seven years prior, after over a year of infertility, we had our son, Caiden. We never tried after that for another biological baby. Our daughter, Kylie, was adopted because we knew how difficult it was for us to get pregnant and there were so many children waiting for a family.
I told my husband that afternoon. I remember him saying, ...
Links for Hope Moms: February Edition
We want to share with you links to posts, videos, and resources from around the web to uplift, help, and encourage you in your walk with the Lord as you grieve.
{Interview with Courtney Reissig, via Of Larks}// Over the next few weeks, Courtney will be walking Hope Mommies through a blog series on learning how to help those who are grieving (following along with the series here so that you can share these posts with your friends and family members). Learn more about Courtney and her story in this interview.
{"Maddox," via A Tree Planted by Jennifer Weir} // ...
Allison’s Story
When I was twelve weeks pregnant with my first child, my husband and I learned that something was seriously wrong. The baby had characteristics of Trisomy 18, a fatal genetic abnormality.
The wait to confirm this suspicion was full of both fear and hope. Fear of the future and hope that my God could get me through anything. After several specialist appointments, the diagnosis was confirmed via amniocentesis. Along with Trisomy 18, the baby also had Spina Bifida.
The rest of my pregnancy was bittersweet. I absolutely loved seeing my belly grow, but was dreading the ...
