On Miscarriage

If you have or are currently experiencing the grief accompanied by miscarriage or childlessness, your journey will be unique and personal. I know this however, that our Savior will not leave you comfortless. He is there, and He loves you. You are a daughter of God and He will not abandon you. I know this to be true. Take heart, there is hope and joy and healing ahead.

Recently, two dear friends of mine confided in me about their recent miscarriages. As I witnessed their deep sadness my heart sank. I felt their pain perhaps even more poignantly, because I myself experienced miscarriage only three years ago. We tried once, lost a baby, tried again, and lost another. As they were describing their feelings my heart and mind went back to my own experiences.

Looking back I see clearly a loving Heavenly Father’s guiding and healing hand. In the moments of deep despair however, I felt helpless and hopeless. The power to create life is a journey filled with powerful and deep emotions. We are taken on the highest of highs to sometimes the lowest of lows. We experience godhood in a unique, miraculous and beautiful way. We experience mortality to its fullest. We learn lessons and see things that can only be learned and felt and seen on this unique journey.

As a child my Mother taught us this beautiful poem by an Australian soldier named Owen Seaman. These words were found on his body after his death.

MORNING

“Ye that have faith to look with fearless eyes

Beyond the tragedy of a world at strife

And know that out of death and night shall rise

The dawn of ampler life

Rejoice, whatever anguish rend your heart,

That God has given to you the priceless dower

To live in these great times, and bear your part

In Freedom’s crowning hour;

That we may tell your sons who see the light

High in the heavens – their heritage to take

I saw the powers of darkness put to flight;

I saw the morning break.”

Although these words perhaps not intended for women who have experienced miscarriage or childlessness, I feel they apply. To have a child requires faith, fearlessness, hope, and when things do not work out, and anguish rends our hearts, seeking again for the light. Gratitude indeed for the privilege to be alive and to take part in creation.

Lessons Learned through Miscarriage

I would like to share some of the lessons I learned through my journey of miscarriage. First, I learned to appreciate more fully the miraculous power of creating life as a gift. I had already been given two wonderful boys. I hugged those sweet boys more intensely, I appreciated their health more richly. I did not take them so much for granted.

Second, I learned to be patient. Heavenly Father’s timing looking back was perfect. He could see things I could not see. We were blessed eventually with a child, a beautiful baby girl, and she came at the right time.

Third, I learned more compassion for those who go through similar situations. I now have much greater empathy for those who experience miscarriage. I am able to mourn with them in a way I could not have mourned with them before. I feel now a portion of the Savior’s compassion and love for them. Fourth, He is near, especially when we need Him the most, and He sends angels to comfort us. I felt love in a way I had never felt before. These lessons were learned in the furnace of affliction. I see His merciful hand in it all now, and truly His ways are higher than our ways.

If you have or are currently experiencing the grief accompanied by miscarriage or childlessness, your journey will be unique and personal. I know this however, that our Savior will not leave you comfortless. He is there, and He loves you. You are a daughter of God and He will not abandon you. I know this to be true. Take heart, there is hope and joy and healing ahead.

Invitation: Look for ways to help those around you who are experiencing pain of childlessness or miscarriage. Reach out to them and assist in any way you can.

For more articles like this one, click here.