198. Infertility, Loss & Lament with MaryEsther Caldwell

Listen in to hear an honest conversation about infertility, loss, and lament from MaryEsther Caldwell. During our time together MaryEsther shares honestly about what it was like to navigate infertility, and then to experience a miraculous pregnancy only to unexpectedly lose her daughter Magnolia Jubilee at 22 weeks. We talk about the challenges of grief and what surprised her and what she wished others understood about infertility and loss and the grief of both. About this she says: “I am just aware on a really deep level that I may never be pregnant again. I have to really deal with the question of, is God good if I never have any more children? If I never get to raise and mother a child here, is God still good? And I think the harder question for me actually is, will my life still be meaningful? Will I still have any joy in my life if this doesn't happen?” Then we spend some time talking about what it means to lament, what is lament, what she means by ‘grief visibility’ in the church and how we can do better serving those who are grieving within the space of corporate worship.  Lastly, we talk about friendships after loss and what it looked like for her to navigate friendship and wisdom she has for those who are newly grieving navigating that aspect of life after loss. About this she says: “friendship has always been really important to me. I think through this, especially in the beginning and even a little now, it's been really hard for me to go from being the person who was always there for other people, to a person who desperately needed to rely on others.”  Resources for Lament MaryEsther had a few really helpful resource recommendations for us on this topic of lament in our grief and we have included links to all those in the show notes -- find those here: Show Notes     THIS EPISODE IS IN MEMORY OF ELIANA GRACE.  This episode is sponsored in honor of Eliana Grace. A message from Eliana’s mom: “Eliana, you are so loved. We miss you dearly and will always remember you. Love, Mom, Dad, Everly and Lou.” A special thank you to Kelsey Rebedew and Eliana's family for sponsoring this episode.  We remember Eliana with you.   If you love this podcast and are interested in sponsoring an episode in honor of your baby, head to themorning.com/sponsor for all the details.    FREE DEVOTIONAL A free 7 day devotional for those who have eperienced the loss of a baby. Download here: www.themorning.com/hope   FREE ONLINE SUPPORT COMMUNITYA place away from social media where you can find support and care from women who are just like you. Women navigating the day to day ups and downs of grief. A place where you can feel not alone in this. Come join us: themorning.com/community   FREE GRIEF RESOURCE BUNDLEOur best and most helpful resources for navigating grief and life after loss all in one place. Plus a list of our favorite books for children about grief and loss. Download Here.   FREE GUIDE: IF YOU LOVE A GRIEVING MOMAnd if you love a grieving mom, we have something for you too, a free guide with simple tips for how to love a grieving friend: themorning.com/friendsandfamily.   RATE, REVIEW &  FOLLOW ON APPLE PODCASTSIf you love The Joyful Mourning Podcast, please consider rating and reviewing the show! This helps moms who are grieving to find us a little easier and get that support they need. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know how this episode helped you. SHOW NOTESwww.themorning.com/blog/episode198