In my head, it has always been just one step away. So close, and yet so far. I could finally be happy if only. It’s taken on slightly different appearances: If only I could lose 5 more pounds, if only I had a boyfriend, if only I was married, if only I could get out of this town, if only I had a different job, if only I were prettier, if only I had more money ... at different times in my life if only has looked different, but it always says the same thing. If only you had this one little thing then you could finally be content and this consuming, seeking feeling that never quite goes away would end. You would finally feel good about yourself, about your life, about everything. ...

I was pushing my daughter, Victoria, on the swings at the park a few houses down from our house. My arms were busy but as I pushed her higher and higher and watched her giggling in delight my mind began to reflect back and I found myself immersed in a conflicting mire of gratitude and regret. You see, I never really took my older children to play at the park. I always wanted to be one of those moms that did it but I only managed a handful of times at best. I could make a lot of excuses about my circumstances at the time, but the truth is that I found it stressful and overwhelming. Once I got us to the park I couldn’t wait to leave. I just didn’t enjoy it at all. I got bored fast. But ...

Lucy leaned her head against her arm, but it brought no relief. Her arms and shoulders had succumbed to numbness for a while, but now the sharp pains that ran up and down her upper body jerked her back to reality. The manacles bit painfully into her wrists, holding her arms up to the cell bars above her head; her dangling body quivered and shook as she tried to get a full breath, but it was no use … a series of shallow gasps were the best she could manage. She had to keep it together. She had to be strong. The others were counting on her. It would take more than this to break her. She had known it was coming, though she didn’t know it would be today. They had gathered as usual ...

On Sunday October 14, 2012 we gathered together to honor over 600 sweet babies who had been lost to miscarriage, stillbirth, infant death, SIDS, birth defects and abortion by handwriting their names onto a banner. We also partnered with Intelligender, Beyond Words Designs and Beautifully-Chaotic.com to host the We Remember You Walk where we walked to honor the lives of the babies as well as the grief of their parents and families and also to raise money to purchase Art Cards to be distributed by Dr’s and Hospitals to women experiencing a loss. Today we are so happy to announce we also have a very special gift from the author of Empty Arms, Hope FIlled Heart, Kristine Lemus. She is ...

Dear Reader, We have something special for you this weekend. A collection of stories. We were originally only going to run one, or maybe two of our reader's stories about babyloss, but as we read them we just knew that there were four more we wanted to share with you. Today we will share three short stories and tomorrow we will share a fourth. All I could think as I read these was, "This is what 'Beauty for Ashes' looks like..." Yes, these stories are heartbreaking but the grace and beauty that is our God just flows out of them. He would never choose loss for us, but He is overwhelmingly faithful and makes all things beautiful. You'll see that in these stories. Be ...

Beloved Reader, Working for Destiny in Bloom is something that always rocks. In fact I wonder often how on earth I, of all people, ended up getting to be a part of something like this, but there are a few things that I have the privilege in participating in that are especially precious to my heart… One of them is coming up this next week and I am this crazy messy mix of excited and brokenhearted. Excited because we are going to bless hundreds upon hundreds of women and get to touch their hearts in a precious way. Brokenhearted because we bless them by honoring the lives of hundreds upon hundreds of babies who were lost to miscarriage, stillbirth, SIDS, birth defects, abortion, and ...

I have two lost daughters. Their names are Jasmine and Lily, and I look forward to when I will meet them in Heaven. To remember them we keep two paintings I made on our mantle. I was decorating the mantle for fall a few days ago and I stood there looking at those paintings and thinking of my girls. My heart ached to know them as it does whenever I think of them. God asked me, “What do you say about your girls?” I answered by reading the words I had painted so carefully.   Forever remembered Cherished Treasured For this child I prayed Tiny Princess Beloved Precious Daughter Wanted So Loved   He said to me, “I have many lost daughters. I know ...

Der RLM Reader, Politics are always a tricky thing, whether you are chatting with a friend, facebooking, or at a party they have the potential to be very divisive. We try hard to find the balance between relevance and sensitivity to the fact that not all of us are going to see things eye to eye. With that in mind there is an issue coming to a vote this November that I still want to bring to your attention. Although it is a proposition up in California it has the potential to affect the entire nation… and believe it or not, it’s all about the labels on that box of cereal you set out for breakfast each morning, what you choose to feed your children, and whether you have the ...

I didn’t want to write this article. How I feel about life is a little conflicting right now and I would much rather have waited until I had things all figured out and my emotions and life sorted into nice tidy little packages and tied up with a pink bow … You know? I thought about and even started a few different articles to write in place of this, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that although I would rather not be the one to write it, this does need to be written. I guess it all comes down to this: Sometimes life can be very good and very very hard all at the same time. You don’t have to pretend it’s not hard to know that you are blessed. It’s ok. You are allowed to say ...

My mind was elsewhere as I maneuvered through the entrance of Barnes and Noble towards their café area. I was carrying my computer case, an overloaded purse, a coat, and my precious Nookcolor, trying to balance all that and my six-month pregnant body on a pair of stiletto heeled boots I probably should not have tried to wear that day. As I teetered dangerously before righting myself near the magazine racks, I continued on towards the general direction of the café and felt my irritation grow. By the time I had ordered my snack and gotten seated at a table to begin working, I was feeling completely unsettled. What was it that had managed to get me so disgruntled just between the entrance ...