What is Christmas like for those who have lost?
Image: Robert Proksa (Via FreeImages)
Well we all know the true reason of Christmas and what we are celebrating.
A baby.
THE baby.
That little miracle, who we know to be called Jesus.
Children have always been the centre of Christmas and when you are longing for a child, Christmas can be one of the most heart breaking times of the year.
Imagine this...
A 9-month walk of hope and longing.
At the end of the journey an empty crib.
No family and friends bringing gifts of joy and hope, often in fact no visitors, as most feel it too painful to step foot into this new world of devastation and mourning. Some worry they will not know what to say, others are so scared that this sort of tragedy could befall them, they choose to pretend this sort of loss doesn't exist. To do that means they need to avoid all baby loss, so they vanish from your world.
Some people who have lost a baby have been blessed to have other children, or perhaps had children before they lost their baby, so for those people the holidays are a mixture of joy and sadness. They have little ones to celebrate with, but they are acutely aware that they should be hanging more stockings on the fireplace, and that a crucial and wanted person is missing.
So as people all around the world put out mince pies for Santa, wrap presents, and excitedly anticipate the looks on their little ones faces on Christmas morning, please take a moment to think of those who are still holding on for their miracle, and are missing....
A child they love...
A child they long to hold...
A child they would give the world to raise.
Please take 2 minutes to watch this powerful spoken word.
Zoe Clark-Coates is one of the founders and CEO's of the Mariposa Trust. The Saying Goodbye division offers support and national remembrance services for anyone who has lost a baby at any stage of pregnancy, at birth or in early years.
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Website: www.mariposatrust.org & sayinggoodbye.org