Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Forget Me Not

Well, I have been eluding to some exciting news and I finally have some time to share it with you all! After years of praying and a LOT of work, God has opened the door for a new ministry that I believe is much needed in the church right now. 

Let me start with a little background. Last Mother's Day I was talking to a dear friend of mine, Becky. She was experiencing yet another heartbreaking pregnancy loss, and I was doing my best to walk with her through it. While there is something to be said for finding comfort in numbers, every time one of my friends walks over to this side of the fence, where there is loss and grieving and dashed hopes and your rose colored glasses are taken from you and shattered forever, it brings me to tears. I can't imagine going through any of my losses without the sisterhood of baby loss mamas, but at the same time I would give anything to keep all of my friends on the other side of the fence.

I shared with Becky that one day, I would love to begin a ministry that provides that sisterhood of support to women like us. One that offers hope and healing and resources and encouragement to women facing pregnancy loss and infertility. I shared with her my vision for such a ministry. How I'd love to host an event gathering all of these women together and provide them with tangible support and words of wisdom from those who have walked this road and have come out the other side with some important lessons learned. Becky and I talked and talked about what a ministry like that might look like, what we'd be able to provide in terms of support, what events we could host, what people we could bring on board, what our mission and goals would be, and so much more.

There was healing in talking about it. In dreaming about it out loud with another person. I remember how I had been waiting for God to provide me with the perfect partner to do this with, and when I got off the phone that night, I realized that He had done just that. It broke my heart that God knew the perfect person, that He knew the loss she was going to experience, and He needed to wait until just the right time to bring us together, but I was so glad He did. She brings everything to the table that I lack, and has such a passion for this ministry and the women it will touch.

So we began. We met at a Paradise Bakery and we hashed out our visions together. We set goals and we began talking with the Powers That Be. A few months later we we sitting in a meeting with church leadership at Palmcroft Baptist Church and were given the green light to pursue this, and that we did!

At one of our planning meetings, Becky was talking about these beautiful glass Forget Me Nots that her sister-in-law makes by hand. She was giving a fifth Forget Me Not to our "spiritual mom" and mentor, who had just lost her fifth grandbaby to miscarriage. Becky mentioned how Forget Me Nots grew in pink, blue, and yellow. We all just kind of looked at each other and it clicked. Forget Me Not Ministries. How perfect is that? And that's how the name was born.

We worked with the church to create a logo, order supplies, and put together fliers. We spoke with different groups on items we'd need donated and asked for their support. We began putting together plans for a comfort box ministry, where women who had experienced miscarriage or other pregnancy loss could be given a box including small comfort items like tissues and a candle, but also a devotional on baby loss, a card with encouraging scriptures, and resources for further support if the woman is interested in counseling or simply getting connected with another person who's been there.

We began plans for an event where we would bring women together who have experienced pregnancy loss, infertility, or who have a loved one who has. We would have speakers and breakout sessions and give each woman a chance to honor her journey. We would talk about what Scripture says about these topics and listen to the hope Christ gives. We would come together, and realize we aren't alone.

That event is now in the works for January, and will be called "We Remember You." I am so excited about this and cannot wait to see what the Lord does through it. This week was really exciting, because we filmed our short promotional video for the event. It was pretty powerful stuff seeing these women hold mementos of their journey with pregnancy loss and infertility, and I know that it will resonate with a lot of people.






More information will be coming soon, but I just wanted to share this huge project we are working on and ask for your continued prayers for it! We can't do this alone, and so far God has brought on board some pretty amazing people to make this dream a reality. I can't wait to share all that He does through this, and we are praying that a lot of women are encouraged and given some hope during a very dark time.

If you would like to hear more or are interested in helping with this ministry in any way, please let me know! I will keep you all posted and can't wait to share the finished video with you all!


2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.