Safe in the arms of God

Finding someone else to talk to about miscarriage has been very vital for me.  Not only in knowing that i'm not alone, but in finding advice.  Cindy, a friend of mine who has been through two miscarriages (but just had a beautiful little girl!) has been very helpful (thanks Cindy!).  She also encouraged me to do something to remember our baby.  I took her advice to heart and purchased two precious moment figurines. One is a couple (i.e. "Chris and myself") with their hands together.  Below I had the words written "Praying for Strength".  The other is a baby on a cloud.  I recently put them in our nursery, with the baby above "us", symbolizing that our baby is in heaven.  Chris and I also picked out a birthstone ring for the month of March, when our baby would have been born.  I love wearing it and enjoy seeing it every day.  Here is a picture of the precious moments in our nursery.  I see them every night before I go to bed since our rooms are side by side.

I've also been blessed by family and friends that have been there for me that haven't experienced a miscarriage.  I know it's hard to know what to do or what to say, but just simply being there to talk has been a very helpful to me.  Immediately after our miscarriage, I wondered if my baby was in heaven or not.  I mean, you hear the saying frequently "at least your baby is in heaven now", which is very comforting, but how do you know for sure?  A few weeks ago some girls in my bible study encouraged me with scripture to back it up (thanks, Angela!), but there was still a part of me that wasn't sure.  My awesome sister-in-law, Jessica, must have known exactly what I was thinking, because just this week she gave me a book called "Safe in the arms of God".  It is a book about where babies go when they die, whether the child is unborn, a newborn, a year old, etc.  I am still in the process of reading it, but so far it has been a huge help in knowing that my child is for sure in heaven.  If you've ever asked yourself the same question, I would encourage you to read it.  I think it would be beneficial for anyone to read, not just a parent who has lost a child. 

Of course I still wonder why God would give us a child and then take it away from us, even if he/she is in heaven, but that is something we don't have the answer to.  I have found comfort in this verse recently, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him..." Romans 8:28.  For some reason God is doing this for the good.  That, however, is yet to be determined...

* ThAnKs again -- I spent some time with my dear friend Allyson last week and with Jessica this week.  Allyson and her mom have been a huge help at getting me some materials that I was supposed to get at the hospital but never did.  And Jess has been the best sister-in-law I could ever ask for.  My mom has been wonderful as well!  Thanks for helping me through this!  You mean more to me than you will ever know!