Journey in Love

If, a dozen years ago, you had told me I would some day thank God for the gift of my pregnancy losses, I would not have believed you.  If you told me five years ago…I still would not have believed you.  And yet, here I am.  More than two years after the publication of my book, in active ministry to build awareness and support families facing pregnancy and infant loss and I have to tell you.   

I can’t wish it hadn’t happened.

I’m sure that sounds absolutely crazy, but through prayer and healing God has used the life of my children to reach others who are suffering.  And that is a beautiful and humbling thing to be a part of.

It has been a true journey of love, in the middle of a journey of suffering.   Where at so many points, I had no option but to cry out to God and to believe that he was listening.  That somehow he could use this for good.  

And good there has been.  

But only because Mary found me at the foot of the cross and showed me that she understood.  She’s been there and she held my hand and brought me closer to Jesus.  I have been surrounded by legions of prayers and showers of love from around the country for over a decade now, from family and friends who love my girls as much as I do.

I wrote my book largely to answer the question, What now? following the loss of a child through miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death.  

Now there is also a book for the what now in the middle.

Journey in Love: A Catholic Mother’s Prayers after Prenatal Diagnosis, by Kathryn Anne Casey, fills the gap.  The gap between that joy of discovering you are expecting a new life and the discovery that the life of your child is in danger or faces some other complication.  

One of the things I really appreciate about Kathryn’s story is that she has courageously faced prenatal diagnosis on two occassions.  With one, her child eventually passed away and one her child lived with health difficulties.  But her answer was the same to each scenario.

Prayer.  

She honestly shares how the process of grief begins immediately upon that moment of diagnosis and continues after the child’s birth.  The pages are filled, not only with uplifting encouragements to turn to Our Lord and Lady in prayer, but with practical tips and tidbits of encouragement.

Packed with Catholic tradition, this book is the perfect gift for a family facing poor prenatal diagnosis.  Kathryn and the publisher, Our Sunday Visitor, are so committed to the mission of this title that they have made it extremely affordable and you can actually immediately download a free digital version on the publishers website.

And in that is so much good. 

Good to be had in the most trying of circumstances.  Beauty to be found in the way that women of pregnancy and infant loss continue to come together to share their stories and support each other.  And truth that the way forward from each of these situations is through the lens of Christ crucified and the gifts of our faith.