A dark day, comforted in breath from the Creator and Comforter

It's hard to imagine that on this exact date seven years ago my heart was so heavy I wasn't sure how I could even face this day. It was the day our precious Joeli Grace was due. But she had gone to be with Jesus just five months earlier. Today, as I reflect on those heavy days-like today were for me-I am also thinking about friends who have just suffered the loss of their baby. The weight of the world rests on your shoulders and in those moments it feels as though you are suffocating from the inside. I described it to a friend as having a limb lost  (although of course I have not personally experienced this, I imagine the analogy parallels in more ways than one) and though you know you can go on, you also know you will have to re-learn how to walk and function and your "going on" will be all new now. It will be painful and time will seem to be stuck. Some reach out and tell you they care, yet in their next breath and probably without even understanding or recognizing it, they complain about their "children" or their laundry. And so you think to yourself, "oh how I wish all I had to be "upset" about right now was laundry."... And you wish they could take more than a moment to "mourn with those who mourn". Then there were those who truly did take more than a moment out of their routine and life to stop in and just tell you they are doing your dishes and bringing your heavy hearted, unwashed haired, swollen eyed, broken self a meal.  

Today, I am so grateful to be on the other side of the most painful times of our grief journey. We have struggled through the immense fear and questioning of bearing subsequent children. And we have seen joy and peace and hope restored on the other side. We have waited and prayed and still longed for our healing and strengthening and continued faith building through the loss of our dear Joeli Grace. And we have been upheld by much support, many prayers and by The Word and Promise of our Lord Jesus Christ. We often say how we wonder how anyone goes through this type of loss without hope in Christ and the promise of His word. 

People often ask me how to support someone  who has suffered loss or is in a painful situation. The best advice I think I can offer is this. Stop. Stop what you have going on. Stop thinking like yourself. Take a moment to think like they may be. Stop living like you can take one breath without the Creator of that very breath. And melt yourself into Him so that you can pour yourself out for the hurting around you and fill them up with Him! 

My heart and prayers go out to my brothers and sisters who are mourning today. May the Rock who showed Himself to me in a vision of turbulent stormy seas be the same unmoved unshaken Rock for you in your painful journey. Know that you are not alone! The God who suffered even unto death on a cross, has taken the weight of your suffering upon Himself and He did it all to demonstrate faithfulness and promise of His restorative hope we now longfully await. 

And my friends that rejoice today in Gods faithfulness and joy, I rejoice with you too! Yet, may we not be so complacent to forget that we too have faced times of mourning and have been comforted for the purpose of expressing love and strengthening from the Great Hope with which we ourselves have been comforted. Our every breath, from the Comforter Himself. 

It was a dark day. Yet, today, we have found comfort and hope in breath from the Comforter Himself, the Creator of each breath, His promises...

"He gives and takes away, blessed be the Name"

The Three Pups By Seana J. Dougherty

Torey lived in a little basement with her sister Bella and her brother Cooper. They were Golden Retriever pups. Their basement was full of boxes of old toys, and clothes, and all kinds of stuff.

One morning Cooper said, "Lets try to get out of the basement". "I'd rather not. We might get lost." Said Torey. "Oh come on Tori and Bella!", said Cooper. "Fine," Tori said. "Fine," Bella said. So they started to search for a way out.

After a while they started to get tired, until Bella said, "Hey! Torey, Cooper, I found something!" "What is it?" Said Cooper. Torey and Cooper rushed over to see it. "I think it is a dog door" said Bella. "Let's see if the door will open" said Tori. "Oof! "said Cooper. "He got out! Let's go!" Bella said. So they went out into their backyard and found Cooper playing with a centipede. Torey said,  "Eww!" So did Bella.

"Wow, that bug was cool!" Cooper said. but thank goodness the bug is gone" said Bella. "Hey what's in here? Cool check out this path into these woods." Said Cooper. "Come on Torey, hurry up." Said Bella. "Okay I'm coming" said Torey. They were in the woods now and they were having a lot of fun, until they found a bear. They were terrified, but they stuck together. They hid together in a log. After a while, the bear found them. So they had to run away. The bear caught them and was about to eat them. Just then Torey said, "let us go!" The bear said, "no! I'm hungry." "We know where some berries are " said the pups. "I have not seen berries for a while in here. That's why I'm going to eat you." Said Bear. "Please let us go. We promise to show you the berries." "Well, okay." Said Bear. So, he let them go. And like they said, they did promise. Bear got his meal and he was happy, so were the pups.

The End.