A Journey Through the Grief of Miscarriage and Stillbirth
Too often, fathers and families are forgotten victims in the aftermath of stillbirth.
In this post, I honor the grief of these forgotten fathers and families – of Patrick, our parents, our sisters, and their husbands – and I share four simple, magical words that can help you to remember their pain and their love too.
Read More Forgotten Fathers and FamiliesHow do you announce your “good news” when you know that it might be painful for someone else to hear?
Here are some tips that I have found helpful on my own infertility journey.
Read More How to announce a pregnancy to your infertile friendWhile we were holding our sons in the hospital, before saying our final goodbyes, Patrick read a poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson to them, entitled “Threnody.” Emerson wrote this poem after his own son died.
This poem serves as a centerpiece in the final sermon of a 4-part sermon series that Patrick preached on Abraham’s near-sacrifice of his son, Isaac.
Read More “All is Riddle”“You have lost enough already; don’t lose your marriage.”
What love can possibly survive the pain of miscarriage and stillbirth? As Patrick and I celebrate our anniversary this year, I know now that our love is stronger than our pain, for our love is stronger than death itself.
Read More A Marriage Surviving Stillbirth“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”
You are brave when you have to be. When faced with their child trapped under a car, mothers have been known to summon a superhuman strength to lift the car off of them. After a lifetime of squeamishness, I walked through hell for my children. And now, I will never doubt my strength as a woman again.
Read More Summoning Superhuman StrengthGrief is lonely.
It is like a shadowy darkness that overcomes you, as you stare Death in the face. The ancients called this desolate place the “Valley of the Shadow of Death.”
Journey with me through this lonesome valley, where even from the depths this week I was able to find joy, friendship, and God.
Read More The Loneliness of GriefAfter the loss of our sons, Patrick and I have been overwhelmed by all of the love and the support that we have received from others. Through this care that we have received, Patrick and I have learned some invaluable lessons on how to best support others as they experience the overwhelming and all-consuming power of grief.
Read More Practical Tips for Supporting Someone through Grief2 years, 2 months, and 22 days ago – that was the day that everything changed when I first found out that I was pregnant. And yet, 2 years, 2 months, and 22 days later, so much is still the same…
Read More 2 years, 2 months, and 22 days“A sermon from a grieving father on Father’s Day”
On this Father’s Day, Patrick dares to face one of the most terrifying stories of the Bible: the attempted sacrifice of Abraham’s son Isaac.
This marks Patrick’s first Father’s Day since the stillbirth of our sons. And as a grieving father, in this sermon, Patrick peers through the eyes of another father who must face the prospect of losing his son.
Read More “A Father’s Sacrifice”Today we go off-script. How do we answer seemingly simple questions that have impossible answers? Questions like,
How have you been?
or worse…
How many children do you have?
Read More Going Off-Script
End of the Rainbow 