Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts

Friday, October 31, 2014

Capture Your Grief. Day 31.

Capture Your Grief. Day 31. Sunset.

That's the funny thing about grief...  It has a definite beginning.  You can certainly, although it's faint, remember before...and then it happened.  YOUR "thing" - your grief bringer...it happened and now, no matter how hard you try....  It won't end.  It doesn't have an ending.  It may change & you may grow, but it's always there.  Like a scar or a limp.  Reminding you...reminding the world... 
You survived.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Capture Your Grief, Days 28, 29 & 30

Capture Your Grief.  Day 28: WISDOM.

  

Today's prompt asks, "Do you have any words that you would like to share about grief that might help others that are on this journey as well? Maybe it is something wise that someone once said to you or maybe it is something you read by someone else."

This is a picture of Levi's hand/foot print. So tiny. So perfectly amazing. 

Words I'd like to share about grief. First this, EVERYTHING comes from the Father. We are nothing apart from Him. This verse - some days, when I couldn't breath...just couldn't catch my breath from underneath the heavy blanket of sadness....this verse... I would say it aloud over & over. It was on our message board at home, posted to the fridge...written on my hand. Isaiah 49:15(c)-16 "I will not forget you. See I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. Your walls are ever before me." He is honest & He KEEPS His promises. He is ALWAYS good. Because He too lost a son, I knew that He could truly grasp & understand & FEEL my grief.

And, the second thing is this... Life. Goes. On. It sucks. It's a hard truth to swallow, but life does indeed go on... Sometimes it feels meaningless, but a lot of times it just feels like ... life. Just going on. I have determined to "live well" as a way of honoring our children. At first I just couldn't move, I was paralyzed by grief, and then it hit me. What honor does it bring to their tiny existence if I give up living too, if I just decide that my life will not go on? So, I became intentional about sharing our story. Their story. Their lives. Our lives. Life, it seems, does go on.




Capture Your Grief.  Day 29: REFLECT.  
 Take today to reflect on this past month. 
What is your relationship with grief like right now?  Is it still the same? Has anything changed? What have you learned about yourself and your grief?
 It is always with me.  I carry it with me like a security blanket....  Not because I need it, but it's something very important to me...  My grief reminds me of how BIG my  Savior is, how kind & merciful.  It reminds me that I am nothing outside of Christ.  The days are not so heavy, as they were in the beginning.  Having our miracle boy here helps pull me from the grief days.  I used to be stuck, like in quick sand, and I was sinking deeper and deeper as I struggled to get a breath, to get a handle on something....anything...  Nowadays I can keep those feelings far away by reminding myself of the tremendous blessings that came from each pregnancy, each life, each death. 

Capture Your Grief.  Day 30: INTENTION.

We are prayerfully considering starting a local SHARE group (hopefully/prayerfully through my church), in honor of Rowan & Levi.  You can learn more about SHARE, here.

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What is "Capture Your Grief"?  Read about it here.
Or, just join in the photo project by following these prompts:

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Capture Your Grief. Days 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12

Capture Your Grief.  Day 8.  Resource.

I found hope & strength through this site. Sharing my grief and learning that we were not alone in our losses. ‪#‎community‬ -though not the community I would have chosen, 
it's a community that helps & heals.

Capture Your Grief. Day 9. In Memory.

Noah has his own little block on this necklace now too. It is probably my most prized piece of jewelry. People ask me about it when they see it & I get another chance to spread the word about my boys' lives and about the love of Jesus and the hope that comes just when you think there is absolutely none left. ‪#‎mamalovesyou‬ 

Capture Your Grief. Day 10.  Support.
This guy.  My ‪#‎husband‬. My friend.
My rock when it seemed impossible. A steady hand when when I could not balance out. A soft place to land when all of life was so hard.  He is ‪#‎brave‬ & courageous. Love you. Mean it.

Capture Your Grief. Day 11. Altar.
A place of remembrance. A place to call to mind all that The Lord has done. In our bedroom there are three shelves. One for Rowan, one for Levi Matthew, and one for Noah.  We do not forget how The Lord proved Himself merciful & gracious. We do not forget the days our lives were changed for eternity. We share our losses & our miracles to tell of His great love.

Capture Your Grief. Day 12.  Music.

 Music seems to be a universal language.  Expressing emotions and thoughts that we sometimes cannot identify by just speaking words.  Music can take you deep into the raw parts of your heart that you otherwise could not get to.  Music captures grief and joy and love so perfectly. This song, "I Will Praise You In This Storm" was on repeat for so long in our home.  I just knew that if I kept saying 'amen', just kept my hope in HIM that I would see another sunny day.  You can listen here.

"I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

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Do you have a grief story to share?  Consider practicing by following the photo prompts from Capture Your Grief (see below) and read more about the project ---> here!



 





Wednesday, October 16, 2013

International Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Day (October 15th)

Yesterday was a tough one.  I cried many times.  I squeezed Noah so hard he said, "ow".  It was a tough one.  But it was also a sweet one.

October 15th is International Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Day.  It's the day of the year that we ask everyone to light a candle at 7 p.m. (in their time zone).  Do you know what that does?  It means that for 24 hours there is a light burning all around the world.  :)

Our little family took part in an AMAZING ceremony last night in Navarre, put on by a local group of moms who's babies left too soon.  You can check out their Facebook page here, Wave of Light. "Like" their page so that you can be sure to join us next year if you are local.

At 7 p.m. we joined dozens of other families in lighting & releasing Chinese Paper Lanterns into the beautiful night sky.  It was overwhelming. The pain & grief hit me as I stepped out to light lantern. I burst into tears.  I'd held it together all day, and the days leading up to the event.  I didn't want to let them go...felt like I was saying goodbye again.  I would let go...and then reach out to grab my lantern back...until finally letting them go...both of them...watching them until I couldn't see them anymore...  Beautiful.  
















As a side note, I find it no "happenstance" or "chance" that I have heard this amazing song on the radio nearly every day this week... LOVE this song & the hope that it proclaims!!


"Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)" <--click click--="" here="">


You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior
[x6]

I will call upon Your Name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Four



Today I write to honor the life of my smallest son, my Rowan.  My FIRST son.  My heart was stolen on the day that pregnancy test was positive.  I fell to my knees in tears & humble thanks.  For years we waited, we cried, we screamed, we hurt, we laughed, we loved, we wanted, and we worked hard to make a baby.  And then, I peed on a stick & 3minutes later our lives were forever changed. 

I will NEVER forget the feeling of sweet relief and overwhelming joy at seeing the smallest flicker of life on that black and white ultrasound machine.  The immense, deep, never ceasing LOVE of Jesus flooded me so quickly in that moment & spilled over from Him to me and from me to the little spark within me.

And, then, my God, my God...5 weeks later and a heartbeat was heard.  A heartbeat that stopped all of time for a moment.  I didn't want them to take the wand away from my belly.  I wanted the sound to go on forever.  And the person growing within me, on the screen, small and perfectly at peace.  Only knowing love.

But, not all stories of becoming a momma & daddy end with a cooing, squirmy, love bug.  Some end with a worn out momma sitting down to use the bathroom and catching her 13 week old baby in her hands.  Some end with daddy's dropping to their knees and praying for a twin to be inside that no one noticed before.  Some end with momma's not having any contractions, without any bleeding and without any warning.  And some of the stories end before they even really begin.  But, I say it again (and I will continue to shout from the roof tops) you are (we are) all mommas & daddys.

Rowan came to us quickly, quietly and without pain.  I like to believe that is how he left too, how he experienced it I mean.  No pain, only love.  No pressure or harshness, only mercy and grace from Abba Father.  

Psalm 139:13-16  " For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,  your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."


 
If I allow myself to sit & think about all I felt and struggled to grasp onto as my life was spinning so fast in those moments after Rowan came to us...  I can feel the tiny weight of him against my hand.  I can remember the warmth.  I can recall staring at him, taking all of him in...fingers with nails, toes, a face that looked exactly like my husband, the cutest little teeny tiny booty.  All the things a momma would notice.  I would want Rowan to know that I noticed.  I know that he was 9 oz in weight.  I know those things because I am his momma.  He mattered, his life MATTERED, it matters still.  

My heart aches for Heaven to be with my boys, Rowan and Levi.  But, my heart also rejoices here to be with Matt and our little Noah.  The Lord is good and He will fulfill ALL of his promises.  What we think we know and understand of God's character is only a whisper of His glory and grandness.  And our small journey here is only a tiny speck in the grand scheme of eternity...but it matters. To us and to Him.  










Thursday, July 18, 2013

Living in the Promise

Happiest of birthday's to my little 2 year old, Noah.  



You are the perfect fulfillment of one of God's sweetest promises.  I love you with every fiber of who I am.  Truly I prayed for you and surely you were given as a symbol of God's mercy, grace & steadfast faithfulness.  You are a joy, Noah Reagan.  A gift given to me & your daddy, two so undeserving, yet so humbled and thankful.  You are the light of my life.  I am honored to be your momma and to call you my son.



You love to laugh and to be so silly.  You talk in funny voices, and make car, animal, etc., sounds all day long.  You almost never stop moving (and I think it's b/c you know you will fall fast asleep if you do).  You love to color, watch cartoons, talk about animals & cars.

Sometimes while playing you will come find me in another room and give me a kiss...then run off to play again.  I LOVE being your momma.  I LOVE being with you all day.  I LOVE being the one you run to, the one you hide behind, the one you want to snuggle and smooch.  It is particularly sweet when we lay in the big bed & you grab my hand and hold it tightly to your little chest.  I am here boy, I will not leave you...ever. 

You sure adore your daddy.  Each night you want him to be the one to put you to bed.  You walk around the house in the morning asking "daddy, are you?"  Then you wait by the door for him to come home.  It's so sweet & I pray you always look for & wait for your daddy.  I pray you grow to be sweet and thoughtful just like him.

I like to hear you talk about cars, trains, trucks, and animals. You really like chickens, dogs, cats, cows, horses and (oddly) peacocks!  Your little voice is so very sweet as you name all the animals you know.  Right now you cannot get enough of talking about fire trucks, airplanes, motorcycles, TRAINS, cars and semi-trucks.  You are so smart and it's so neat to watch you learning more and more.

Oh, and the beach (or pool). You really like to be in the water.  You get your little float and hop in!  It's really cute, although it sometimes takes my breath away how brave you are.  I have to be quick to keep up with you, especially in the water!!  :-)

momma & her big kid! 

I am excited to teach you new things this coming year and I am excited about what you will teach me.  I love to love you.  I hope you remember these sweet times we have together.  I hope I remember them too.
practicing our colors


Walking tall with daddy at the Zoo

I think he's ready for some lessons!

Noah Reagan, wild life explorer!

Blessed -- Easter 2013

Noah & Daddy -- LOVE








visiting his big brothers on Mother's Day 2013