Festooning of Psalm 31:6-19 by Jennifer Hicks

As I thought about how to talk to you about the offering today for SHARING, I decided to “festoon” the text of our Psalm reading, as a mother who has lost a baby herself, and as the mothers who depend on SHARING to support them in their season of grief:

God, I am in distress. I am filled with so much sorrow and grief I have become weak and I can’t even stand up.  My life is consumed by what could have and should have been.  The future with my baby is gone and I feel weak, unable to bear it another day.  I weep every day alone and feel utterly useless.  My family, friends and neighbors avoid me like I have COVID-19, because they are afraid.  They don’t call, and text unless it is to say, “let me know if I can do anything for you,” as if I have any idea what I need done.  They don’t know or have not remembered how physically, emotionally and spiritually deep grief is.  So, I feel abandoned, and forgotten, as though I had died instead of my baby. At times I wish I had.  I hear them whispering, “See that woman over there, she’s the one who lost her baby and she talks about it all the time. I never know what to say.” Then they awkwardly turn away when I come near.  

But I trust in you LORD: I say, “You are my God”.  My broken heart is in your hands; Deliver me from those who avoid me out of their ignorance, and let your face shine on me through those who do understand and who aren’t afraid to sit with me in solidarity and trust.  May your unfailing love be showered on my life through them.

SHARING is an organization committed to creating a safe place where parents, friends and families of loss can come together in safety and compassion during their journey through bereavement. SHARING is a support group for parents who have lost a baby through miscarriage, stillbirth, or early infant loss.