A Liturgy and A Song for Those Who Have Suffered A Miscarriage or Stillbirth
This week The Rabbit Room released a video of author/singer/songwriter Andrew Peterson reading a liturgy from Douglas McKelvey’s upcoming book Every Moment Holy, Vol. II. The liturgy is titled, A Liturgy for Those Who Have Suffered a Miscarriage or Stillbirth.
Andrew says of the of liturgy:
"In the second year of our marriage, Jamie and I experienced the great heartache of a traumatic miscarriage. We were in our early twenties, and it rocked us. I remember being so thankful and so surprised by how many people in our community reached out with stories of their own. I wanted to share this liturgy, because it gave me the words to pray now that we didn’t have then."
Our Own Story Of Loss
As many of you may know, my wife and I have experienced the loss of 4 babies through miscarriage as well. It’s a pain that doesn’t go away and we still carry the memory of those children with us, even though we never had the chance to meet them. That’s why I am so grateful to The Rabbit Room Press for giving families a new way to express the profound, yet often hidden grief that so many people have experienced.
Everyone has their own unique way of working through their loss, of absorbing their pain, and giving their hurt to God. One of my ways is songwriting, so the song below one of my ways of giving it to God.
So If you need some hope today, and if you are in a family that is suffering from a miscarriage, I just want to say a few brief words to you.
I’m so sorry for what you are going through. I don’t know why these things happen but I do know it isn’t your fault.
Please hear this, you are not to blame.
What you are feeling at this moment is not wrong, no matter what it is, and it’s okay to be feeling it because your feelings matter.
Please know that there are people who love you and care about you, but that you might need to reach out to them because they won’t always know what to say to you in the coming days. They will probably want to be there for you, but you might have to be the one to reach out to them. That feels unfair, but that’s often how this grief thing works. Just know that you are not forgotten. With that being said, take as long as you need.
There is no expiration date on your grief. It takes as long as it takes, no matter what anyone says, and it may get worse before it gets better…but it will get better.
Blessings,
Rick Lee James