Pregnancy and Infant Loss Month

The month of October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness. Many like me will never know their child’s name until we get to heaven. I do not know if it was a girl or a boy. I wondered if they have light eyes like me or big brown eyes like my love? To me, it is like a dream that stays in your head, that no one is interested in hearing. If they do listen, it is from pity, which no one ever wants. When I speak about my deceased mother, I speak with a smile that many receive that allows me to continue to tell them about my family. When it comes to infant deaths of all kinds, the mere mentions will cause people to flee like roaches when the light comes on. I believe that is why God had to command us to rejoice with those that rejoice and mourn with those that mourn. Investing in someone else’s sorrow is more than most people want to commit.

I had a military friend that made a memorial plaque for her miscarried child. I was fascinated by the gesture because the unknown did not deter her from naming and remembering her child. I am so impressed by her determination to remember her blessing given to her by God. The length of the blessings was not going to dissuade her from memorializing life. May we all value life in this manner.
My dear friend Tina posted a link to a bereavement program. I never knew these existed, and may I say, shame on us Church for not having something like this available. Aren’t we supposed to be the champions for life? Does our responsibility end when a loss occurs? Maybe, this is the month that many churches can step up. How about giving the parents a simple plaque that praises God for the blessing, so they can always remember the life given? Please acknowledge the life as a missing family member. If you want to be called a Child-of-God, then take care of your family. “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality” Romans 12:9-13.

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L. Kathleen Cline

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