After years of longing for marriage and motherhood, Susan Lavender married her husband, James, at 41 and soon discovered she was pregnant. It felt like a beautiful answer to years of prayer and waiting. But over the next few years, Susan and James would experience the loss of four babies, Asher Grace, Christopher James, Anna, and Eden Leigh, along with the death of Susan's father.

In this episode, Susan joins Jennie to talk honestly about repeated miscarriage, compounded grief, and what it means to be a mother when your motherhood isn't always visible to the people around you. She shares about wrestling with God through questions, anger, comparison, and longing, and about the people and places the Lord used to meet her in some of her hardest days, including the Psalms and the Hope Mommies community.

Together, Jennie and Susan talk about the difference between understanding what God is doing and trusting Him in the midst of what we don't understand, the ache of watching other families grow, and the hope of knowing that our identity is ultimately held in Christ.

Susan's story is still being written, and she doesn't offer easy answers for the places that still hurt. Instead, she points us back to the One who sees every unseen mother, holds every child, and remains faithful even when the life we are living looks nothing like the one we once imagined.

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The Hope Mommies Podcast is a ministry of Hope Mommies, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that exists to bring bereaved families comfort, encouragement, and relational support as they continue to walk this side of eternity without their beloved son or daughter. The music used is Sparrow Song, courtesy of Katie Cobbs and Flourish Creative

When a family learns their baby has a life-limiting diagnosis or experiences the loss of a child, compassionate care can make all the difference.

In this episode, Jennie sits down with Ryley Chestnut, a wife, homeschooling mom, StillBirthday-certified birth and bereavement doula, and fellow Hope Mom. After her daughter, Jaycee Grace, was diagnosed with anencephaly and died in 2016, Ryley felt God calling her to walk alongside other families facing pregnancy and infant loss. Today, she serves as the operations director for Labor of Hope while continuing to care for families through birth and bereavement support.

Together, Jennie and Ryley talk about Jaycee's story, the practical and compassionate care grieving families need, what it looks like to serve as a bereavement doula, and the many ways the body of Christ can faithfully love families in the midst of heartbreak.

Whether you are grieving yourself or want to better care for someone who is, we pray this conversation offers practical encouragement, compassionate insight, and a deeper confidence in the hope we have in Christ.

Links:

Labor of Hope
stillbirthday

Hope Mommies Website

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Join our online Facebook Group

Connect with us on Facebook

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Podcast Guest Submission

Make a Donation

Sponsor an episode of the HM Podcast in honor of a Hope Baby

The Hope Mommies Podcast is a ministry of Hope Mommies, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that exists to bring bereaved families comfort, encouragement, and relational support as they continue to walk this side of eternity without their beloved son or daughter. The music used is Sparrow Song, courtesy of Katie Cobbs and Flourish Creative.

One of the hardest parts of carrying on after miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant loss is that grief doesn't just take our babies. It often takes the future we imagined, the assumptions we held about life, and sometimes even the certainty we thought we had about how God works. In this episode, Kelly Ransdell and I have an honest conversation about the difference between expectations and promises, and why that distinction matters so much when we're grieving. Because after our babies die, it can be so easy to wonder: Did God fail me, or did He fail to do something He never actually promised to do?

Together, we talk about what God never promised us, what He has promised us, and how loss often forces us to wrestle with the difference. We discuss suffering, God's presence in the valley, the way grief reshapes our faith, and how loss changes the way we read Scripture, worship, and pray. If you've ever struggled to trust God after the death of your baby, questioned His goodness, or wondered what remains true when your world falls apart, this conversation is for you.

Links:

Hope Mommies Website

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Join our online Facebook Group

Connect with us on Facebook

Connect with us on Instagram

Podcast Guest Submission

Make a Donation

Sponsor an episode of the HM Podcast in honor of a Hope Baby

The Hope Mommies Podcast is a ministry of Hope Mommies, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that exists to bring bereaved families comfort, encouragement, and relational support as they continue to walk this side of eternity without their beloved son or daughter. The music used is Sparrow Song, courtesy of Katie Cobbs and Flourish Creative.