Miscarriage and Roe v. Wade

My grandmother was detained by police at a pro-life rally.  I come from a long line of pro-life family members who have loudly expressed that their core value system includes life beginning at conception.  While I want to be excited about Roe v. Wade being overturned today, my heart hurts.

Last year I experienced a miscarriage.  One of my mom friends ended up in the hospital due to a miscarriage and took weeks to recover.  Another found out after years of infertility that she was expecting only to discover there was no heartbeat.  Then she found herself getting a blood transfusion.  Friend after friend has shared about their miscarriages and the pain surrounding them.

Miscarriage is a traumatic event. 

Having unborn babies being screamed about and debated and the abortion decision be lamented, or exalted brings up uninvited feelings that I have dealt with, but now need to deal with all over again.  I’m guessing I’m not the only one.

I realized I need more grace in this season.

Yesterday I asked my husband to take care of the cold pack that came in our latest Thrive Market box.  It said it was environmentally friendly plant food, so he put it on our raised flower bed that I had just planted lettuce seeds.  I didn’t want chemicals on the soil.  And I let him know.  I didn’t want plant food that I didn’t know the chemicals and their safety on the food I was going to eat.  It was too much.  My soil will be replaced.  I’ll start over.

I’m still not changing my mind about replanting, but my reaction helped me realize I need more grace in this season of intense focus on unborn babies.

If you have experienced a miscarriage and current events are overwhelming now is the time to give yourself grace.

Ideas for self care while feeling overwhelmed:

Go for a walk.

Turn off the news.

Delete your social media apps for a day or two.

Write.

Exercise (the swimming pool is calling my name).

Talk with a friend or your spouse.

Try making a new recipe.

Eat breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Open your Bible daily.

Open Your Bible

When I stopped and opened my Bible today, I read the story of Jesus raising the widow’s son.

Jesus enters the town of Nain with his disciples and a large crowd.  He happens upon a funeral.  This funeral was not one of an old man, but the dead man was the only son of a widow.  There was another large crowd.  This crowd was with the grieving widow.  Jesus is surrounded by large crowds on all sides.  His followers and grievers.  He isn’t overcome by the crowds and what they might want from him.  In the moment he sees the grieving widow.

“When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Luke 7:19

Jesus’ heart went out to the grieving woman.

He could have looked at all the crowds and decided to turn away taking his followers with him.  He could have said that grief was part of the fall and moved on.  Surely he had seen other funerals and not acted.  He could have not acted.  He could have taught a lesson.  He could have done a great many things.

But his heart went out to the grieving woman.

Jesus heart goes out to us and the loss of our children.

Then Jesus touches the coffin and says,

“Young man, I say to you get up!  The dead man sat up and began to talk and Jesus gave him back to his mother.”  Luke 7:14-15

The faith of the woman is not a factor in this miracle.  The works of the son do not contribute to his being raised back to life.  We don’t know if they were good practicing Jews or anything about their religious beliefs before this meeting with Jesus.  But Jesus had compassion on a grieving woman and brought remarkable healing to restore her life.

Jesus came to bring healing and restoration.  His heart breaks alongside our grieving hearts. 

He sees you and doesn’t take note of whether you are devout or not.  His heart goes out to you. While there are no real answers for miscarriage and why it happens, I am confident that Jesus heart breaks over death and his attention is on your grieving heart.

Roe v. Wade and the topic of unborn babies is here to stay for months and years to come. In the freshness of the ruling while tensions are high, remember Jesus cares about your heart.

Express your grief if it happened days, weeks, years or decades ago.

We have a Savior whose heart goes out to the grieving and is still wanting to bring healing today.  Your healing will look different than mine, but Jesus knows your heart and the healing He wants to bring.