Browsing Tag

childlessness

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You Are Here

By On 17 October 2017

I think this all started with a colouring book. But this isn’t just any old colouring book. It’s Jenny Lawson’s colouring book, a brave, hilarious and irreverent American writer and artist – seriously, if you’re sensitive to sweary language don’t read her stuff and don’t judge me for reading it either. Jenny has dedicated her book to her chronic anxiety…

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Mother’s Day Runaways

By On 7 March 2017

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,…

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Is it okay to get angry with God?

By On 18 January 2017

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…

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Why Christianity is good news for the Childless

By On 6 November 2016

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…

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A snow globe of murky hope

By On 4 November 2016

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,…

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Who is this week for?

By On 31 October 2016

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…

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How the loss of two young lives changed me

By On 12 October 2016

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…

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Sausage Rolls and Sympathy

By On 9 October 2016

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….

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Silence

By On 18 August 2016

Silence, or my fear of silence, is something I’ve wanted to write about for a long time but I’ve struggled to find the words to express exactly what it makes me feel and how I’ve struggled with it. I guess it’s just one of those everyday life struggles that comes with living out a story you’re still not totally comfortable…

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How comparison can destroy your story

By On 25 July 2016

Last week we were put in touch with a couple who had a story of recurrent miscarriage, we offered to meet with them, to listen and to tell them they’re not alone. But they declined. After hearing our story of six miscarriages, no baby and no answers they decided they didn’t want to speak to us, I think our story…