The easy answer: Without God, there is no hope.
The long answer…
I spent some time looking through a bunch of forums in Baby Center recently. I wanted to see what women were saying about their miscarriage experiences so I could more aptly encourage them here.
What I found was an astounding difference between Christian forums and non-Christian ones.
The non-Christian forums are more about tests, procedures, and recommendations on what to try or who to talk to. In addition to task lists with confusing acronyms and research studies, these forums seem full of empty words and sadness. They say things like:
“My thoughts are with you”
“How about I worry for you for today and you take the day off”
“I am so sorry for your loss”
“*Hugs* This isn’t easy”
But the Christian ones – those are full of scripture, deep theological musings, and hope.
They’re not hoping in a future baby. They’re hoping in their God. That He will comfort us. That He will guide us. That He will grow a miracle. That He will be glorified. That He will grow us through our losses.
They point to God and His greater story.
Even if we don’t know where His story is headed in our lives, pointing to Him is always so much more comforting than what these other forums are doing.
Those forums point to me. They point to you. They point to our doctors and specialists and tests and science.
But I can’t fix this problem. You can’t fix this problem. And, as much as they’d like to say they can, doctors with all their tests can’t necessarily fix this problem.
By pointing to ourselves, we’re taking on too much. After all that pointing, who’s to blame if we have another loss? Me? You? The doctor?
That’s not fair. And it’s not encouraging.
When we point back to God and remind Him that this is HIS story to write, we take a huge load off ourselves. That is encouraging.
We have things we can do, but in the end, it is up to God to make it all work out. And the good news? He loves us so much that He’ll be the Comfort, Peace, Joy, Reassurance, Shelter, and Provider that we need. In the end, when all is said and done, we’re going to be okay if we abide in Him through it all.
So you see I have to include God, scripture, and the Gospel. Because without it, it’s all on us. And we just aren’t that powerful.