National Day of Remembrance

I like to blog about happy things. I like to share pictures and stories of silly and funny things. The news is full of heartbreaking stories, and truth be told, I really don't keep up with them because sometimes it's just too much...

Today is the National Day of Remembrance for pregnancy and infant loss. As much as I enjoy light-hearted posts, I feel like this should be recognized. If you haven't lost a child, I'm sure you know someone who has. I myself have never experienced the loss of a child. My baby brother went to be with Jesus at 20 weeks gestation, and I still think of him very often. There are also several women in my family and circle of friends who have had miscarriages and stillbirths.

On one of my favorite blogs that I linked to in a previous post (Bring the Rain), she asked women who have lost a baby regardless of "weeks" since no matter how small the baby is it is still a baby to leave a comment so that we could all come together to pray for them and remember their babies today. The last time I checked, there were almost 1,000 comments. I read through the first page and it was so heartbreaking. The grief that is there is an overwhelming reminder of how blessed I am. I am so very grateful to God for my babies.

If you have lost a baby, please know that you are being prayed for today and that your precious baby or babies are not forgotten. There is a healing that can only be found in God and I encourage you to cry out to Him and allow yourself to grieve if you need to, regardless of how long it has been since you lost your little one. You may also want to check out Bring the Rain. You're definitely not alone.

Here is a quote also from the blog I've been mentioning that really moved me:

“Jacob, where do you find the strength to carry on in life?”

“Life is often heavy only because we attempt to carry it,” said Jacob. “But I do find a strength in the ashes.”

“In the ashes?” asked Mr. Gold.

“Yes,” said Jacob, with a confirmation that seemed to have traveled a great distance.

“You see, Mr. Gold, each of us is alone. Each of us is in the great darkness of our ignorance. And, each of us is on a journey.

“In the process of our journey, we must bend to build a fire for light, and warmth, and food.

“But when our fingers tear at the ground, hoping to find the coals of another’s fire, what we often find is the ashes.

“And, in those ashes, which will not give us light or warmth, there may be sadness, but there is also testimony.

“Because these ashes tell is that somebody else has been in the night, somebody else has bent to build a fire, and somebody else has carried on.

“And that can be enough, sometimes.”

~Noah benShea