61 results for tag: Shelly

In the Word: Burdened Beyond Our Strength

Welcome to Hope Mommies In the Word devotionals. Over the next several weeks, we will be meditating on 2 Corinthians 1:3-11. As we study the truths found in these verses 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! “For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself." 2 Corinthians 1:8 READ: My husband and I moved three times ...

The Heart of Fear

Fear. It’s a funny thing. We talk about having a healthy fear of things being good. Knowing not to touch a hot stovetop or a toddler who is timid about just jumping in a pool is a good, healthy fear. Fear is an asset in dangerous situations. But fear can cause us to sin and keep us in bondage. So let’s talk about fear. During my pregnancy with my son, I had no fear or reason to have fear. I already had two easy pregnancies resulting in healthy daughters, so I assumed it would be the same with my son. That was not the case as he was stillborn at 37 weeks due to a 1 in 10 million amniotic band cord “accident.” Fear didn’t keep me from trying ...

Could I Have Done More?

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.  When we carry a child in our womb, we often feel our child’s life and development is ultimately in our control. The baby is in us and part of us. We share blood and oxygen. We feed him or her. Doesn’t that make it all up to us? The baby is dependent on us so shouldn’t we be able to control the ...

Blessed Are the Pure in Heart

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Matthew 5:8 Life is hard. And if you’ve lost a child, life will be hard all of your life I didn’t put a period at the end of that sentence because it isn’t the end. It is the beginning—the beginning of a life where you trust in and rely on Jesus. How can we Hope Mommies trust in and rely on a “God that let us down?” We can because we are Hope Mommies—we hope in the Lord. He is our only hope. "This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls," Hebrews 6:19 Our reality is one of longing and suffering Again, I did not use a period at the end of that sentence ...

The Gift of Greater Witness

In Philippians 1:12-14, Paul talks about the joy of being imprisoned. He wasn’t joyous about his imprisonment. He was joyous because his imprisonment helped him spread the good news of Jesus’ salvation and encouraged fellow Christ followers to do the same. I never wanted to be imprisoned in the jail of grief after losing my son. No one does. I think of Paul in a dark, damp jail cell sharing how God is good, faithful and always with him. The jailers and other prisoners didn’t think he was crazy. They believed Jesus was the salvation of the world. He shared and they believed. After losing my son, I had a choice about whether to succumb to the ...

A Prayer For the One Who Feels Forsaken

For the one who feels forsaken: Jesus has felt forsaken too. In Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34, Jesus feels death creeping in while hanging on the cross. He quotes Psalm 22:1 as He cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Let that sink in. Jesus, the person who is unequivocally closest to God and one with Him, felt forsaken. When your world crashes down and there seems to be no saving grace, no fire escape, and no one to shield you from the fire, cry out to God just as Jesus and the Psalmist did. When you feel like God is far from you and elusive, don’t be discouraged. Don’t pull away. Lean in. Reach out. Call out to Him. ...

A Prayer for the One Who Feels Alone

Dear Grieving Mama, Do you feel alone? I felt an aloneness that permeated to the core of my bones when my son was stillborn. My husband had to go home to be with our daughters and the nurses moved me to the end of the hall so I wouldn’t hear the other babies crying for their moms when it was time to nurse. Instead of snuggling a newborn baby, I lay alone in a bed with grief deeper than I thought possible. As the moments turned into hours and the hours into days, the fog of grief lifted and I remembered I was never alone. My Lord Jesus was always with me. He wrapped me in His loving embrace as I slept that first night. He restored my joy in the ...

Beyond the Grave

For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. -Psalm 16:10 A cool breeze blew this morning as I sat on my back porch with a friend and listened to her pour her heart out about her adult children and the trials they are experiencing. Our mama hearts hurt together but we encouraged each other to keep trusting the Lord and talked about His faithfulness even in the trials. As a Hope Mommy, I have often been told to rejoice because my child is in heaven. And I do. And I hurt because my child is not with me here on earth. I didn’t get to rock him to sleep, to teach him to tie his shoes, to take his prom ...

I Will Not Be Shaken

I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. -Psalm 16:8 I have set the Lord always before me. That sounds kind of churchy and odd, doesn’t it? Who talks like that? I think David was saying, “I’m keeping my focus on the Lord. I’m putting Him first and looking to Him in all things.” We all have things in our lives that bring us to what I call the faith barrier. It’s what makes us question if God is there, if He cares about us, if He loves us, and if He really is a good, good Father. We wonder how God could let our child die (or another devastating event) if He really cares and is good. I ...

Discussions in Grief: Withdrawn

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 don’t mind going to the dentist, but some of my friends and family avoid it. I avoid traffic, but I have friends who are completely unaffected by the stress of bumper-to-bumper cars and enjoy the time alone and the chance to catch up on phone calls or listen to podcasts. Whenever there is ...