“For some reason, I wanted to be a young mom–fit, fashionable, and in the prime of life. I was doing all the pregnancy math. If we get pregnant at this time and it takes nine months to cook, then we’d have the baby at this perfect time. After several months of trying, I started to get a little worried.”
‘She placed her hand on my belly and shouted ‘PREGNANT! PREGNANT! PREGNANT!’ I never met this woman before in my life.’: Woman becomes pregnant with rainbow baby after ‘five years of praying for our family to grow’
‘Do you want to hold her?’ My husband cradled her in his arms, weeping. ‘I just love her so much.’ My lungs burned as I gasped for air.’: Parents lose daughter to Anencephaly, ‘My husband fell to his knees’
“I collapsed over her body that no longer held the warmth and softness of a newborn. Nothing was going to bring her back. She was finally healed. Safe. Free of pain. I kissed her forehead. A final goodbye. My husband was escorted out of the room by the funeral director. I saw my daughter’s body leave forever, safe in her daddy’s arms. Stop. Stop. Stop the car. I can’t do this. I can’t go home. He rubbed my hand. ‘Let’s go to a hotel…’ We slept hard that night and awoke to a new day. A new, unwanted step we had to take without our baby girl.”
‘I’ve failed. I can’t do this. I’m too old. No one will ever want me. I’ll never be good enough in anyone’s eyes.’ Mom recalls struggles as a single mom, urges ‘You are made for more’
“I see you: It’s early morning. Your hands grip the edge of your kitchen sink; head slumped as the last few peaceful moments of the morning diminish to dust in the rays through the window. You grasp for air in your lungs. Razor waves of all the anxiety in your life grate against your throat with each breath you take. I know you’re tired.”
‘My card got declined in the checkout line. I was a new mom with 2 kids under 3. I felt like I could just melt into the floor.’: Mom pays it forward after stranger’s act of kindness
“My two-year-old was asking for bubble gum and chocolate bars. Without missing a beat, the man behind me in line handed the cashier his card. ‘I’ve got it.’ He said. My friend at the cash register was near tears by the end of her shift. I won’t ever forget that day and I doubt she has either.”
‘My mom loves to decorate at Christmas. It’s a big deal to her. She begged me to go outside to make sure they were ‘just right.’ I didn’t want to.’: Daughter ‘couldn’t care less’ about holidays, but realizes ‘there’s always a reason to share genuine human spirit’
“Christmas? Forget it. It’s not for me. I like the quiet. For a girl like me, holidays are overwhelming. But my mom loves to decorate. She puts up 5 Christmas trees. She goes all out. She begged me to go outside with her to look at them. I didn’t want to. I couldn’t care less. Just then it hit me. She cares. It’s important to her.”
‘I’ve been saving this money. I heard your husband died. I want you to have it because I still have my dad. Merry Christmas.’ It was a child’s handwriting.’: Widow receives unexpected act of kindness, now wants to pay it forward
“As I sat staring at the tree, silently pleading with God for direction, my doorbell rang. I made my way to the door, opened it and looked out – no one stood there. I looked down. To my surprise on the porch sat a glass jar piggy bank full of money. I read the card and started to cry. In a child’s handwriting, scribbled on a makeshift card, read the most beautiful little words.”
‘It’s a call I’ll never forget. Her biological mom wanted her back. Never to be held by us again.’: Mom reflects on her tumultuous journey into Motherhood
“The phone rang. All I heard was, ‘He’s yours.’ Even as I type this, I get goosebumps all over again just hearing those two simple words. I don’t remember what else was said after that. Less than 18 hours later, we were on a flight to Florida to meet our sweet son.”
‘I was still in I-might-die-at-any-moment panic mode. Nothing could change that. ‘Do you guys know Jesus loves you?’ Except that.’: Woman pursuing international adoption sits next to very religious man on flight
“‘Do you guys know that Jesus loves you?’ Now normally, the idea of being stuck on a 14+ hour flight with someone who uses that line as an ice breaker would send me reaching for the airsick bag faster than you can say, ‘bad peanuts.’ But on this day, when I’d been praying like a mad woman for some little sliver of comfort – it was exactly what I needed to hear.”
‘What’s that? It could be something sinister. You might have a tumor.’ I got fired for being ill.’: Young woman diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome after countless tests, ‘I was getting sicker and sicker, but with no answers’
“I was sobbing in bed one night angry at God. ‘Why won’t you take the pain away?!’ I had worked so hard despite being unwell, pushing myself to achieve. I got the grades to study music, my true passion, but was too unwell to go! I was gutted. The emergency doctor uttered the word ‘stroke.’ I was in disbelief. I was only 19 years old.”
