Job 16:5 “ But my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief.”
After I lost my daughter Katie, I felt like a stranger in my own body. I was surrounded by family and friends, but no one had walked through this journey I now found myself on. They tried to comfort me and support me, and I love them so much for all they did, but I never felt so out of place everywhere I went. It wasn’t until I walked into a room with other moms who too had lost their precious child, did I feel understood. I was met by a room of women, who even though they had not lost my child, they had some of the same feelings I had. I soon discovered I was not crazy; I was just grieving. We were all grieving the most precious gift a mother has been given, and I soon learned it would not be something I would ever “get over.” What I did learn is that it would soon become a part of me; I would incorporate it into my life just as I had done in her birth. It changed every part of my life; no stone was unturned.
Past Umbrella Ministries conferences have brought together moms who probably walked through the door wondering if anyone else could understand the pain they were dealing with, and how anything good could be accomplished by spending the weekend with brokenhearted mothers. We are instructed to comfort others as we have been comforted and that is exactly what those conferences were all about. We saw mothers who came to be encouraged and comforted, reaching out and offering comfort and encouragement to women they had never met. God was showing us how we can carry one another’s burdens, and what a beautiful thing to see.
Lord, we have so much to offer each other as we walk on this journey of grief, but more than anything, let us be an encouragement and a safe place to land, to each mom we come in contact with.
– Michele
