I’ve been having lots of thoughts lately on the subjects of parenting and loss.

Although we don’t often think of parenting as a loss, I’ve been surprised at how many families I know who have been affected deeply by a loss related to parenting. Whether it’s infertility, the death of a child or the more mundane losses like our waistlines and our free time it seems to me that many hopeful parents find that the joy of parenting comes along with a grieving of some sort.

I’ve been thinking in particular about how having a child can reconnect us with old losses and bring us face to face with our own brokenness. That as we work so hard to give our children everything, we have to accept that everything is something we don’t have to give. Ramona’s journey towards healing has so many parallels to my own search for wholeness. And as we pursue health for her, I’ve been wondering what God expects from us as parents when it comes to providing opportunities for wholeness and health for our children.

And now I’m wondering what you all think. If you have the time to comment on your own experiences and the ways that parenting and loss have intersected in your lives I would be so grateful. If you are too shy to include your response in a comment below, please feel free to email me at janedeitrich***at***yahoo.com.

Thanks. We continue to wait for Ramona’s MRI results. Here’s a shot of her looking SO big, I guess she’s not a baby anymore…

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