24 results for tag: Sam

Knowing Him: The Bread of Life

There is nothing greater than knowing Christ. Seven times in the book of John, Jesus offers us profound insight into His nature and character. In this series, we seek to guide the reader into a deeper understanding of these “I Am” statements, and the rich hope and comfort that can be found in Christ in the midst of grief. Bread—such a simple, staple food with so much rich biblical significance. For the people of Israel, bread was typically a readily available element, no matter one’s income. There is nothing elite or exclusive about bread—from the poorest of the poor to the richest of the rich, everyone ate bread on a daily basis. But ...

For The One Who Feels Stuck in Grief

After my son Max died, I struggled to perform even the most basic of daily tasks. I couldn’t clean my house or cook. I had no interest in putting on makeup or doing my hair. I couldn’t imagine sitting in my office attempting to do anything productive at work ever again. I felt like I was moving in slow motion, trying to escape a quicksand that threatened to pull me under. And if you asked me to think about anything bigger than these basic, day-to-day activities, I felt paralyzed, completely incapable of movement. Grief has a way of convincing us that we are stuck, broken. It whispers in our ears that something irreparable has been damaged inside ...

In the Word: The God Who Sees

Welcome to Hope Mommies’ In the Word devotionals. Over the next several weeks, we will be looking at different names of God found in Scripture, and how these different aspects of who He is offer 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 study these names of God along with us! “She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’” Genesis ...

How the Truth of God Strengthens Us in our Grief

When Max died, I had so many feelings. Feelings of anger, disbelief, confusion, and doubt in my own body. I was sadder than I have ever been in all my life. Typically I’m not a big feeler; I don’t really experience high highs or low lows. Instead, I stay pretty even-keeled at all times. But my son’s death truly knocked me down and forced me to feel all the feelings, and if I’m being honest, I really didn’t like it. I didn’t want to feel those feelings. I had gone nearly 28 years without feeling a whole lot, and I liked it that way. It was easier that way, less confusing. But there I was, in a deep well of emotions I felt I had no control ...

I Wish You Knew: Just Ask Me

Often in our grief, those closest to us do not know how to comfort and encourage us. Sometimes they stay away or don’t say anything at all because they are afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing. In this series, we hope to better equip those around us to come alongside a grieving mother—to enter their hurt and offer hope and encouragement, or simply grieve with them. My husband, Spencer, and I are very involved, active people, with no shortage of energy and opinions. In addition to working full time jobs, we lead our LifeGroup, serve in various capacities at church, and have a very active social calendar. We are the people you can ask for ...

A Prayer for the One Who Feels Angry

God, I am angry. So angry. Furious. Bitter. Resentful. Offended. I am angry that you took my baby from me. That you would allow me to know the joys of pregnancy and motherhood only to strip them away. That you would leave me feeling so empty. So alone. So broken. I am angry that you would give me this road to walk. That the steps you have ordered for me would take me down this road. That the plans you have for me could harm me so deeply. I am furious at myself. I am furious that my body could not do the one thing it is meant to do. That it could not protect my baby. It could not sustain him. It could not get him here safely. I am furious at how ...

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 ...

Discussions in Grief: Wailing

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.  About two months after Max’s death, I found myself at a dear friend’s wedding. She had just danced her father/daughter dance as her husband walked out onto the floor with his mom. I felt my chest tighten and a lump form in my throat. Then the music began, and suddenly everything inside me broke. I ...

You Will Lack No Good Thing

God’s Word is filled with rich promises for His children. How do these “precious and very great promises” inform and direct your grief? How does keeping your eyes fixed on these truths anchor your hope in the Lord? In this series, we write about how God, through the promises in His Word, comforts and strengthens us in our sorrow. In the days following my miscarriage and the subsequent loss of my precious son Max, there was nothing I longed for more fervently than my child. I sat in an empty nursery staring at an empty crib with empty arms wrapped around my empty womb, crying out with all of my soul for my child. I wanted him ...

My First Time With Other Babies Born When Mine Was Due

A few weeks after I miscarried my first baby, a close friend who hadn’t even told us she was trying to conceive, warned me about thirty minutes before our small group girl’s accountability meeting that she had been trying to conceive, and was in fact pregnant. I did a decent job in that moment of putting on a happy face and faking excitement. But during the ten minute drive from where she and I had coffee to the house where we were having group, I began to unravel at the seams. By the time I arrived, my heart was bitter and angry, and I was barely holding it together. As we went around the circle sharing what God was doing in our lives and ...