To the Mother with Empty Arms

It is Mother's Day. There weren't any baby cries to wake you in the night. There weren't any early calls for "mama" or the pitter pat of feet ready to face the day's adventures. No dirty sippy cups or spilled breakfast on the floor to clean up. No day's activities to plan or books to be read.

It is Mother's Day but you are a mother with empty arms. I am a mother with empty arms. I don't know your story of how such joy was ripped from your arms but I do know that what you are feeling today is real and normal.

It is a beautiful day! The sun is shining, clear blue skies, and the birds are joyfully singing. There is alot to be thankful for!

However, the ache in the heart is there. Today marks one whole year since it was confirmed that I was having a miscarriage. Our precious, loved, and wanted baby was being released from my womb without my consent. There was nothing I could do but hold on for dear life as I faced all the realities of grief.

Leading up to today, I had many thoughts of what I would like to share. I even composed a poem in my mind while taking a walk at the park that never made it to paper.

This past year has been, well, difficult. At times I felt that I could not take the pain any longer. But I have never regretted the time I carried baby Promise safely in my womb, though it was such a short time. Perhaps someday God will give me the gift again and we will hold our next baby in our arms.

But for now, God has given me the gift of being a mother with empty arms. There is always an emptiness in my heart for the baby I lost and all the "what could've beens." Throughout this last year, I have learned to quiet my heart and be still and know that He is God. Jesus is a precious Saviour and cares for even those who are mothers with empty arms.

"He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord."

Psalm 113:9

Here is my attempt to write down the poem I composed in my mind a few weeks ago...

A Mother With Empty Arms

You could see it in her eyes

A pain that could not be described

Brokenness she hoped to disguise

But she is a mother with empty arms.

With tear stained face

She clenches her womb as she yearns

For a moment of grace

But she is now a mother with empty arms.

Every dream, every hope

Now shattered in a moment of time

How will she ever learn to cope?

Now that she is a mother with empty arms.

What to do with all this love?

The tenderness that bursts from her heart

She reaches for strength from above

For alas, she is a mother with empty arms.

Her existence takes on a new meaning

Life has seemed to lost its charm

Within her heart is a deep earning

As she learns to be a mother with empty arms.

With each passing day

Her heart becomes more quiet

As she learns to be still and pray

As a mother with empty arms.

She reaches out her heart

To grasp the promises of God

Of heaven, no more to part

Where she will be a mother with full arms.

By: Sabrina Miller

May 12, 2024

God sees you. He hears you. He understands. He holds you and will never let you go! Rest in His loving arms, knowing that He sees your pain and tears. If nothing else, just rest in that! Set all the questionings in His hands and just rest in knowing that He is love and that He is still a Good, Good Father.