The announcement is supposed to be exciting. Happy.

In the Fall we got balloons to surprise the girls. I wrote a sermon illustration. The church was in the middle of a series on creation – perfect timing, since we were living out “be fruitful and multiply”… until we weren’t. The same day we got the balloons, Meg started to spot.

The pregnancy announcement is joy. But how do you tell folks about a miscarriage? A D&C? Or not being able to get pregnant to begin with… there are no announcements for these events. We don’t even speak of them.

Meg’s sickness was so bad the doctor told us to go to the ER. Before we could go we needed someone to watch the kids. My parents were too far away, so unexpectedly we were making phone calls and announcing our pregnancy. No Facebook perfection for our announcement. We would prefer to wait until everything was right, this came with the vomit bag in hand.  But it also brought help. It brought prayer.

It brought a friend. When Joanie got our call, she simply said “I’ll be there.” When she arrived Darcy said, “You got here fast.” Joanie answered, “I drove the speed limit.” (Yeah right! Lying to a three-year-old!)

Some things are too hard to talk about, to be asked about. The world does not need to know everything. But we also can’t carry every burden. Find a trusted friend. Ask for prayer.

Find someone who will speed to help. Be someone who will speed to help.

I wrote this as we began to announce our pregnancy, but the events of the last week caused me to wait to publish. Hence it is Part One. We have journeyed through more than one miscarriage – sad moments and we are a little scared. We know there are times when life’s balloons float away. When we need friends to be present. But there are other times when grace arrives and God catches the balloons. Undeserved, but Thankful. Here is Part Two.