When someone experiences suffering or grief, especially one we haven’t experienced ourselves, our mouths often feel dry and empty. But don’t let fear of saying the wrong thing or of encountering her grief keep you from speaking. You only need a few simple components to show a grieving parent of a miscarriage your care and love.

While living on this earth marred by sin’s curse, we will always be in this awkward place of celebration and mourning. Some losses that caused us grief may be restored and replaced, while others may not or cannot be. And so in those times we will walk our road holding hands with joy and grief, sometimes talking to one more than the other.

I have memorials in my home. I have pieces that provoke feelings, memories, and thoughts. For each one that brings grief, I have another that gives me a glimpse at eternity. But even these memorials are temporary. I also need something that doesn’t tarnish. Something everlasting. I need to treasure God’s Word in my heart. Perhaps in physical ways that I can see and tangible ways I can touch.

We’ve been public about the lives and deaths of these babies not to draw attention to ourselves but because we want to acknowledge their lives. Though these babies never breathed the air we breathe, though they never cried, and though they never grew beyond such a tiny size, they are life. And life lost should always be a life acknowledged and grieved.

About 15-25% of recognized pregnancies will end in a miscarriage. If you don’t already know someone who has miscarried, chances are you will meet someone. To those who have not experienced a miscarriage, you can feel helpless watching those you love experience one. How do we help? How do we encourage them in this unique pain?

Theology is easier to articulate in articles, books, and journals than it is lived out. It’s one thing to claim that God is sovereign, and it’s another to see him take away and find a way to praise his name. Learning theology comes in two parts. There’s the time in the classroom (or on the couch with a good book) and there’s the time of living it out.