These hands. Each one of them represents a strong,
courageous, faithful woman. Each one of them represents a woman walking the
hard journey of pregnancy loss, infertility, or both. Each one of them
represents grief. Each one of them represents hope.
One year ago this month, my dear friend and I walked through
the doors of our church on the second Thursday of the month and hoped that one
other woman would show up. We prayed that this group we had envisioned could
help just one other woman. You see, my friend and I felt so alone when we
sent our daughters to heaven far too soon. My dear friend walked years of
infertility in isolation. God birthed a beautiful friendship between this
friend and I. God moved in our times of grief. He called us into community, and
together, He called us to build a community for women walking difficult
journeys to motherhood.
“A friend loves at all times, and a brother (sister) is born
for a time of adversity.” – Proverbs 17:17
We are called to community. We are called to feel the grief
and heaviness of one another’s burdens. We are called to talk about the hard
stuff, to cry together, to laugh together, to be bonded together in this broken
world. The fact of the matter is, so many women struggle to get pregnant; to
carry their babies. So many women send their babies to heaven far too soon. So
many women give birth to silent children, holding them for just a few fleeting
moments on this earth. So many women spend years and years and an absurd amount
of money trying to start their families. It’s heavy. It’s hard. Yet, we are
still meant to walk these harsh roads in community with one another.
That first Thursday, three other women walked through the
doors and sat at our table. These three women still faithfully come and sit in
community together with us each month. Month over month, more women trickle
into our community. This is a community in which no one wants to belong. It’s
heavy and hard and sad, but it’s also filled with an incredible amount of hope.
The wisdom that pours out of these women’s mouths, even in times of
desperation, is incredible. God is moving.
We are seeing pregnancies after years of prayer and failed
treatments, we are seeing relationships strengthened along this journey, we are
seeing compassion and understanding that can only come from our God. We are
seeing peace and joy in the midst of pain and sorrow. God is moving, even when
we feel that we can’t see Him.
In 1 Corinthians, Paul says this of the Church, “If one part
suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part
rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is part
of it.”
