There’s a Biblical truth I learnt about a few years ago that changed my life, it guides me, inspires me and gives me purpose and hope. It’s not something I’ve heard preached repeatedly from the front of church, I just found it one day, nestled in the chapter of a book, the words declaring grief as a precondition to joy….
Mother’s Day Runaways Service Saturday 25th March, 6pm, Lady Chapel, Liverpool Cathedral A service for those who normally avoid church on Mothering Sunday. The Mother’s Day Runaways service offers a safe space for those who find Mothering Sunday difficult. Whatever your story, whether you’re grieving the loss of a mother, the loss of a child, or a baby through miscarriage,…
I’m sat before Him, poised, ready to speak. I feel a tiny bit proud of myself, I mean, this is what I should be doing, this is what Christians do isn’t it? I open my mouth expectantly, knowing that after this I should feel better, at least that’s what I’ve heard. I go to speak, longing to find some kind…
As a Christian and a vicar’s wife there have been many moments over the past few years when I have wanted to walk away, to give up and reject my faith in Jesus. After six miscarriages and unexplained infertility it has taken years to believe again that prayer might actually work. I’ve sworn at God time and time again, I’ve…
As National Fertility Awareness Week nears its conclusion, we’re pleased to be able to bring you this guest post from our friend Mark. His story comes very much from the messy middle of a journey with infertility… Someone wise once said to me – and I paraphrase because it’s been a while – ‘We are all like jars of water,…
Today marks the start of National Fertility Awareness Week. In the few years that this has been on my radar, I’ve often accompanied this announcement with a jingle or dance so please just imagine I am shimmying around as you read this. This year feels different for me. I could put it down to being a post-fertility treatment parent and…
“Have you thought about adoption?” This phrase has been running around my head throughout National Adoption Week. If I’m being completely honest, it runs through my head pretty regularly. I am thinking about it. When Elis and I were coming to terms with what azoospermia meant for us (“You can use a donor or adopt” said the consultant) adoption was…
I remember the first moment I saw a child with Down’s Syndrome after the results from my 6th miscarriage. I was sat on a pub terrace in Cornwall enjoying a glass of wine, the sun shining into my skin, my face flushed from the heat and the alcohol, my body sinking further into the cushioned wicker armchair I was sat…
So, this week is Baby Loss Awareness week, it’s also OCD Awareness week and apparently today is also world Mental Health Day, there may also be other deeply challenging life struggles remembered this week but to be honest I’m already feeling pretty overwhelmed by the three I’ve already listed. Now the thing about all three of these battles is that…
The following is a chapter from Lizzie’s book ‘Saltwater & Honey’ which she is currently working on. “I’m pregnant!” I whisper to my brother. His eyes respond with wide-eyed excitement, congratulating me with a silent ‘yay!’ The vicar stands to start the service and all eyes are forced forward, resting on the coffin at the front of the crowded chapel….