Miscarriage, part 2: When You Have One
My last post Miscarriage, part 1: When Your Friend Has One gave a few ideas on how to minister to your friend who has gone through a miscarriage.
However, because of the statistics, it is likely you yourself may have also had a miscarriage. In this post, I’d like to share a couple things that were extremely helpful to me as I've worked through losing our twins
1. Music
I don’t know about you, but music is a incredible balm for my soul. Shortly after our miscarriage, several songs became very special to me, for they reminded me of Who my God is. Those songs, along with some select albums, are now part of a playlist labeled “Angie’s List.” {haha, yes, I know…so original!} I like to think of those songs as my go-to songs to help “lift my eyes to my Savior” when the emotions flood my soul or when I am tempted to wallow in a private pity party. That list has played so many times…and over and over, I’ve wept as the words remind me of Who my God is. Through the tears, these songs have helped me worship my God who is forever good and faithful towards His children, even in the valley.
2. Special Memorabilia.
Because our miscarriage was pretty early on, we didn’t have any physical souvenirs to indicate that our twins had ever even existed: no ultrasound picture, no special outfits, no wristbands from a hospital stay, no indication of whether they were boys or girls, no names picked out
Nothing.
In some ways it felt like they had come and gone and it was all just a figment of our imagination.
But of course it wasn’t.
After months of struggling with this emptiness, I finally got to the point where I just really, really, really had to have something physical as my special reminder of the Little Ones God gave us for such a short little while: I decided to go with a simple heart necklace. It is the only necklace I ever wear and I love wearing it.
Now that I think about it though, there are other items scattered throughout our house that remind me that our twins have not been forgotten: dried roses in a vase from a bouquet that friends sent, that
small stack of cards, a wall plaque my Mother-in-law gave around the 1-year anniversary of our miscarriage.
Maybe it is a name ring, or a Christmas ornament, or a necklace, or an ultrasound picture, or a special onesie for a souvenir box, or something altogether different, but that holds special meaning to you. Whatever it is, find something that reminds you of your Little One. As strange as it sounds, there is an element of comfort in having something more than just a memory to remind you of your Little One.
3. Topic-specific Reading.
With perfect timing, God brought along the book Inheritance of Tears, by Jessalyn Hutto, as well as the blog by Courtney Reissig. Both of these ladies have gone through multiple miscarriages
themselves and have written on the subject to help point other ladies towards a gospel-centered comfort. God used the truths these ladies write of to be highly instrumental in refocusing my heart on my Savior in the midst of the sorrow.
Another resource that was highly influential in showing me more of the character of my God in the middle of my sorrow was the book Trusting God, by Jerry Bridges. While not about miscarriage, Trusting God deals with learning to trust Him in our sorrow, even when we don’t understand His ways. (Which is exactly what we struggle with, is it not?)
I highly recommend reading these!
While there is an abundance of articles and blog posts on the internet discussing personal experiences with miscarriage, be careful of those that are absorbed with all the emotions surrounding miscarriage,
particularly if they come from a secular perspective. I agree that there is an element of encouragement in knowing that “you’re not the only one going through this,” but this encouragement is only temporary. As a believer, your ultimate comfort should not be in the warm emotions of fuzzy feelings and virtual group hugs from people you’ve never met or who may not even know Christ as their Savior. As a believer, you have access to a lasting comfort: the comfort that is found in your Savior.
Which leads me to my last point:
4. Scripture.
This is perhaps an obvious statement, but I cannot emphasize it enough, so it is listed last because it is my most important point and I want you to remember reading it: Saturate—and I mean soak, marinate in, drench, flood--your soul with God’s Word.
As emotional of a journey as a miscarriage may be, don’t get caught up in just the emotions. Fight the tendency to wallow in the emotions by offsetting it with the unfailing truths from God’s Word.
God’s Word is true and living--the only source of lasting comfort--for it reveals the character of it’s Author. It reveals the One who Created the Little One you miscarried. It reveals the very nature of the One who knows your every thought and emotion going through your heart during this time.
It is in the Word that you will begin to see more clearly the God who has sovereignly caused you to miscarriage.
It is in the Word that you will begin to see more of God’s picture for sorrow and suffering this world.
It is in the Word that you ultimately will find true comfort--because you will find it in God.
So read the Word, listen to sermons, study the Word, read it some more, write out passages that God uses to cause your heart to worship Him, pray the Word back to God, read the Word some more.
If you’re at a loss as to how to saturate your soul with the Word, start reading the Psalms. Over and over again, the Psalmist depicts a state of sorrow, despair, and anguish—all emotions we can identify with as we try to make Biblical sense of why God has allowed a miscarriage to happen. After sharing his heart’s state of despair and anguish, the Psalmist points his reader to the specific character of God that upheld him in his darkest hours.
And that is what our souls need: a rehearsal of Who God is, for it reminds us that even though our world may feel like it has just crumbled around us, we still have our unchanging God, good and faithful in all of His ways.
So cry out to God. Plead with Him to make His Word to be living waters for your parched soul to drink from, for it causes the heart to rejoice. Pray that He would be true to His character and show you His goodness in the sorrow of your miscarriage. Pray that He would cause you to again sing praise to Him and give thanks to Him forever.1
Pray that you would experience that He is, indeed, good and that His steadfast love is, indeed, everlasting.2 Pray that you would be able to testify that it is indeed His steadfast love that is the very thing that upholds you when you are about to slip.3
Find your ultimate rest and comfort in the God who is sovereign over all of creation and very purposefully and intentionally created your Little One for His glory.
1Ps 30:12,2Ps 118:29, 3Ps 94:18,
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