Your Tears Are Meant to Be Given Away
Sometimes the best gift you can give someone is your tears. When a person is treading the deep waters of grief, their head barely above water, the last thing you think you should do is cry. It’s easy for you to gift them with meals and sympathy cards…
Like Hot Wax on an Eyebrow, It’s the Pain That Shapes Us
I got my eyebrows waxed the other day, and like so many other times, I wondered if my brow line was going to be bald by the time the esthetician was finished with me. “Is she waxing them OFF?” I thought. “Does she know what she’s doing? How…
Waiting For the Light to Return During a Season of Darkness
Super Bowl Sunday is a reminder for me. Of defeat. Of being on the losing team. Of an ending. Four years ago, as the lights went out on another season of football, as one team walked off the field defeated and disappointed, all I could think about was how the…
To Grieving Mothers Everywhere, I Pray for You
To the Grieving Mothers, I pray for you. Although we’ve never met, I know your hurt by name. It’s called Baby Loss. It’s called Child Loss. It’s called The Worst Kind of Loss. Very simply, it’s called Grief – except there…
The One Word That Doesn’t Help Those in Crisis
I’ll never forget laying in that cold, sterile room, praying that I was wrong, hoping that I was being overly cautious. But I knew with certainty I wasn’t. I was 17 weeks pregnant and had gone to the ER due to bleeding. As I lay there…
This is for the Dads Who Have Lost
This is for the dads who have lost – a baby, a child, a piece of their future. The dads whose eyes lit up upon hearing the words “I’m pregnant” and whose hearts dimmed when the words “there’s no heartbeat” shot through their ears. The dads who…
So God Gave Us Laughter
God looked down on his creation and said, “I need something that will ease the pain of this world, something that will be a force of joy in the howling winds of despair. I need something that will mend the hearts cracked by grief and loneliness, disappointment and failure.” So…
Let’s Welcome Grief and Gratitude to the Table
Let’s extend an invitation to both grief and gratitude – that they may gather around the same table. Let’s seat them across from each other so they can look one another in the eye, each examining the other closely. Let’s show them how much they…
Grief and Gratitude Can Coexist
“Just be thankful for what you have.” It’s a comment that people who are grieving hear over and over. At least in my experience. I cannot count the number of times I was told to “just be thankful” for my living child after two pregnancies resulted in loss…
Burden of Grief Meme
Click here to share this meme on Facebook and be sure to tag @abeautifullyburdenedlife so I know who to thank…