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In this very special episode, Ashley welcomes her longtime friend and behind-the-scenes podcast team member, Maria Childs, to the microphone. Maria has faithfully served Cradled in Hope since its launch in 2021, designing the beautiful graphics and quote carousels that listeners see each week. But in this sacred conversation, Maria steps out from behind the screen to share her deeply personal story of grief, faith, and healing.

Maria opens her heart about the stillbirth of her daughter, Taylor Ann, at 39 weeks, and the early miscarriage she experienced just six months later. She shares how her grief led her to Bridget’s Cradles through a sticker giveaway (yes—really!), and how God used a Facebook post to begin a redemptive story of connection, service, and purpose.

Together, Ashley and Maria reflect on the power of community, the healing that comes through telling your story, and how serving grieving moms has helped Maria honor her babies in Heaven while encouraging others through their pain. This episode is a beautiful testimony of how God brings purpose from heartbreak and knits friendships together through shared sorrow and eternal hope.

In this episode, we discussed:

• The traumatic experience of arriving at the hospital expecting to meet her baby—only to hear the words no parent should ever hear
• The shock and confusion of receiving no medical explanation for Taylor’s passing, and the miscarriage that followed six months later
• How God led Maria to Cradled in Hope through a social media giveaway, and how she messaged Ashley after Episode 1, saying, “I want to come to the little blue barn.”
• The journey of moving from silent sorrow to openly sharing her story—and how each Bridget’s Cradles event and connection helped her find the courage to speak her daughter’s name
• Maria’s work as a graphic designer, and how using her gifts for the podcast became a healing outlet and purposeful way to honor her babies
• The Facebook group ministry and how Maria lovingly welcomes grieving moms through personal messages and prayerful connection
• Why answering the question, “How many children do you have?” is hard—and how Maria learned to confidently include her babies in Heaven
• Her bold step of faith in speaking at Manhattan, Kansas’ Pregnancy & Infant Loss event, and how Bridget’s Cradles resources helped other families that day
• The importance of walking with moms in fresh grief while also pointing them toward the hope of healing and the promise of Heaven
• Maria’s favorite chapter from Ashley’s book, Cradled in Hope, and how she rereads it when grief resurfaces
• How Cradled in Hope and the podcast offer gospel truth in a variety of voices and stories—all pointing to the same eternal hope
• Maria’s favorite verse, Matthew 6:34, and how God has gently led her to take each day as it comes

Whether you’re in the crashing waves of fresh grief or standing on the shore years later, this episode reminds us that community, compassion, and Christ-centered truth are essential to healing. Maria’s story is a beautiful testimony of pain transformed into purpose—and of a mom who continues to serve, create, and share in memory of the babies she will one day hold again.

Full transcript below.

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MEET OUR GUEST

Maria is a mom of three daughters on earth and two babies in Heaven. She is a volunteer graphic designer for the Cradled in Hope Podcast, and serves in honor of her daughter Taylor Anne, who was stillborn at 39 weeks, and her second baby in Heaven, who was miscarried at 6 weeks. Both of her babies in Heaven were born in 2019.

Through her journey of grief and faith, Maria has found healing and hope through the Bridget’s Cradles community, where she continues to connect with and support other bereaved families.

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Episode 66 | From Grief to Graphic Design: Honoring Her Babies through Service and Storytelling | Maria Childs

Ashley Opliger: [00:00:00] You’re listening to the Cradled in Hope Podcast. I’m your host, Ashley Opliger. I’m a wife, mom, and follower of Christ who founded Bridget’s Cradles, a ministry in memory of my daughter, Bridget, who was stillborn at 24 weeks. Our nonprofit donates knit and crocheted cradles to hospitals in all fifty states to hold babies born into Heaven.

I’m also the author of the book Cradled in Hope, a biblical guide for moms grieving miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant loss. This podcast shares the same name—and the same heart—as the book: to help you find the comfort, compassion, and healing of Jesus in the midst of deep sorrow.

Rooted in the hope of the Gospel, this podcast is a sacred space for your broken heart to land. Here, we are going to trust God’s promise to heal our hearts, restore our joy, and use our grief for good. With faith in Jesus and eyes fixed on Heaven, we do not have to grieve without hope. We believe that Jesus cradles us in hope while He cradles our babies in Heaven. 

Welcome to the Cradled in Hope Podcast.

Ashley Opliger: [00:01:03] Welcome back to the Cradled in Hope Podcast. I am so honored to introduce to you a very special guest and dear friend, Maria Childs. Maria is a mom of three beautiful daughters on earth and two precious babies in Heaven. She serves as our Volunteer Graphic Designer here at Cradled in Hope, faithfully creating the beautiful artwork and quote graphics you’ve seen on our social media since the very beginning of this podcast.

[00:01:27] But even more than her creative gifts, Maria brings her heart and her story into everything she does, and today she’s stepping out from behind the screen to share that story with you. 

Maria’s daughter, Taylor Anne, was stillborn at 39 weeks in 2019, and just six months later she experienced a heartbreaking miscarriage of her second baby in Heaven.

[00:01:47] In the years since, Maria has walked a courageous journey of grief, faith, and healing, one that eventually led her to Bridget’s Cradles and this very podcast, God used a sticker giveaway and a Facebook post to connect our paths, and I’m so grateful that He did. 

In today’s episode, Maria shares with such honesty and tenderness about how she found hope after heartbreak, and how God is using her story to serve and comfort other grieving moms. Whether you’re newly walking through loss or years into your healing journey, I know Maria’s story will meet you with both compassion and truth. Let’s listen in. 

Ashley Opliger: [00:02:22] Welcome, Maria, to the Cradled in Hope Podcast. 

Maria Childs: [00:02:24] Thank you so much for having me today. 

Ashley Opliger: [00:02:26] Well, this is so exciting because you not only are a guest now on the podcast, but you have been a part of this podcast from the very beginning. And I’m going to let you share how you found us and your involvement, but you’ve been serving faithfully from the beginning of us launching our podcast in 2021. 

And so I would love for you to introduce yourself, tell us more about you, and also how you ended up finding the Cradled in Hope Podcast and how you’re involved with it.

Maria Childs: [00:02:58] My name’s Maria Childs and I live in Manhattan, Kansas, with my husband Corey, and our three daughters on earth.

[00:03:03] I have two children in Heaven. The first baby I have in Heaven is Taylor Anne Childs. She was born March 30th, 2019. I was 38 weeks pregnant with her and, two days before my induction date, went into labor in the middle of the night. And my husband and I thought that this was just the moment that we would meet our daughter, go to the hospital.

[00:03:28] And when we got to the hospital, we quickly found out that there was probably something going on beyond just labor. They couldn’t find the heartbeat, which in my first pregnancy, they also couldn’t find the heartbeat when we went into labor and delivery. So that was really nothing unusual for us.

[00:03:49] But then Taylor was born at 6:00 AM on March 30th, and she did not have a heartbeat. At the hospital, the day after we lost Taylor, they ran numerous tests where they were trying to determine if there was anything genetic going on or anything behind why Taylor would have been stillborn, and they were all inconclusive.

[00:04:16] None of them, none of the tests resulted in an answer as to what happened or why this loss would’ve occurred. So from there, it sent us on a journey through fertility treatments to determine if there was anything genetic that we needed to be worried about moving forward. 

[00:04:40] At the end of those fertility treatments, we were told that there was no reason why we wouldn’t be able to have another healthy child, so we began the journey of trying to conceive again. 

Six months later, we experienced an early miscarriage; because of the medical testing and everything, I was on high alert to know if I was pregnant, because they wanted to catch it early. They wanted to know about it as early as possible. And so I found out when I was six weeks pregnant, and then shortly after, about a week later, we found out that we were miscarrying that baby. 

[00:05:15] So in 2021, I was looking for some resources and scrolling social media late one night, and a Facebook ad actually showed up on my newsfeed from Bridget’s Cradles, and it was a sticker giveaway that was being launched in like a countdown post of the Cradled in Hope Podcast 

[00:05:41] At this time when I saw this ad. I had never heard of Bridget’s Cradles. I did not know they were in Kansas. I did not know how close geographically I was to their headquarters, but I went ahead and entered the giveaway to get the sticker, and I think I had to comment and share and like the post, and I got the sticker.

[00:06:06] But then I started following Bridget’s Cradles on social media, saw the launch of the podcast, and I was hooked from Episode number 1. So I listened to Episode number 1, and at the end of that episode, Ashley, I looked you up on Facebook and messaged you to tell you that I wanted to be part of this ministry because it was so close to my heart and I wanted to do something purposeful with the grief that I was feeling at that time.

Ashley Opliger: [00:06:38] Yeah, and not only close to your heart, but close to your home. You’re about two hours north of us in Kansas, and it was such a joy that you have been able to come down and visit us at our headquarters, and you’ve come to Wave of Light and various events like our Mother’s Day event, our Christmas parties, sometimes.

[00:06:59] I remember your first DM to me because you had listened to Episode 1 of the Cradled in Hope Podcast, and if anyone’s listened to that or read my book, you know that I talk about the Little Blue Barn that is our headquarters in Kechi. And so I started the podcast and our book with this invitation for grieving moms to kind of hypothetically meet us there.

[00:07:19] And I remember in one of your first messages to me, “I want to come down to the Little Blue Barn,” and that was so special. I love that you shared everything about the sticker giveaway and the fact that you did win the giveaway. I didn’t remember that detail about it. The stickers were these Fearfully and Wonderfully Made stickers that an Etsy artist had made specifically for us, branded in our colors.

[00:07:41] We had several giveaways leading up to the launch of the podcast to really try to share it with as many people as possible, and I’m so grateful that the Lord used a sticker to bring you into our lives and into the ministry because you have been such a blessing in the ways that you’ve served in memory of Taylor and Little Baby Childs, as you also call this little baby Jellybean, how you’ve served in their memory through the podcast.

[00:08:06] So before we go into talking about grief and healing and your journey with Jesus, will you share what you do for the podcast?

Maria Childs: [00:08:15] Yes. In my professional career I do graphic design and social media marketing. And so one of the ways that you offered to let me help the podcast was graphic design needs at that time. 

I think actually in your message back to me, you shared that you had been praying for graphic design help at that time of the ministry. And so that was a very natural fit for me, and so I was able to take the skills that I was already doing and learning in my professional career and apply them to the grief that I had and share them with other grieving moms. So currently for the Cradled in Hope Podcast I create social media graphics that feature podcast guests and Ashley.

Ashley Opliger: [00:09:05] And you do a beautiful, beautiful job with that. If you’re listening to this and you follow us on Facebook or Instagram and you’ve seen anything that comes for the podcast, whether it’s the graphic that’s announcing a new episode, or it’s a quote graphic either from myself or our guest, or it’s Scripture, or that we do some carousels of information we want to feature from the podcast, that is all Maria’s work, and she does such a beautiful job.

[00:09:31] In fact, I’ve told you numerous times that anytime I open up a Canva file from you, it feels like Christmas morning. I’m so excited to see the new things that you create. God has gifted you with an eye for it, and also I think your own grief and experience walking through this helps you put the information in a design that grieving moms will resonate with.

[00:09:54] And you have been such a blessing to us and also to me as a friend. And it’s been beautiful to grow our friendship through serving together in memory of our daughters. So thank you so much for everything you do. I just want to publicly honor you for everything you do because you have been such a gift to us.

Maria Childs: [00:10:17] Thank you, Ashley.

Ashley Opliger: [00:10:18] Well, Maria, I would just love to dive into your grief journey and how the Lord has ministered to your heart, but also brought you from pain to purpose. Because even in the short time I’ve known you for four years, I have seen God do such a work in you and through you, and I’ve seen Him embolden you to step out of your comfort zone in many ways to lead in your local area.

[00:10:44] And so we’re going to get into that later about where God has brought you to. But let’s start where you were at. So let’s talk the early days of grief after losing Taylor. What was that like for you emotionally and spiritually?

Maria Childs: [00:11:00] Early on, I remember feeling like I was waking up in a nightmare; it just kept repeating, kind of like a Groundhog Day experience.

[00:11:12] Like I remember waking up and thinking, “That must have just been a dream,” like “it didn’t really happen.” It felt very surreal. And so that was the emotional side. Physically, of course, I had given birth, so there was dealing with the physical symptoms and physical pieces of healing your body from giving birth to a child.

[00:11:37] Spiritually, I never took a break, really, from my spiritual life and my spiritual walk with God. I definitely wrestled with Him and I definitely wrestled with the question of, “Do I believe in a God that allowed my baby to be taken from me early on this earth and to go to Heaven with Him?” And I think that’s a question that I asked very early on.

[00:12:03] I struggled kind of through that answer, but I kept going to church. I kept seeking the answer in the Bible. I kept looking for resources that were Christian-based that would allow me to just dive into His Word and would confirm what I believed before this loss happened to our family.

[00:12:26] Being raised in the Church, I feel like I had a foundation going into this difficult season, that I knew that I knew of God, I knew about Him. But I would say that my faith really wasn’t tested truly until this moment in our marriage, in our family, in my life. 

And so I think I had to really just get to the bottom of my belief and what I believed about it. And doing that, I had to soak into His Word and absorb as much as I could about it.

Ashley Opliger: [00:13:02] So it sounds like you knew the truth, you had that foundation from an early age, but it was like you needed to keep preaching that truth to yourself and keep seeking, in the Word, in the community, that truth was true. Because sometimes it doesn’t feel true, especially when you walk through trials.

And to your point, so many of us, especially that were raised in the Church and had a faith upbringing, it’s that first real trial that shakes everything. Right? It’s that storm that comes in and rattles the house and it’s, “Well, what was I standing on?” It’s the parable in Matthew, you know, about the builder who built his house on the sand or on the solid rock. 

And so trials, and especially losing a child, it’s so devastating and heartbreaking, that is the kind of loss that is going to shake everything in your life and expose what kind of foundation you’re standing on.

[00:13:58] And so would you speak to that, what that experience was, the shaking and figuring out that the foundation you had was solid, even though it was a tumultuous and overwhelming time, and there were questions and you were wrestling and doubting? But you did come back to the solid rock.

Maria Childs: [00:14:16] Yeah, I think early on it was tricky to see how God was working through such a difficult season. But I think as time went on and as I read and absorbed God’s Word, I think I started to see it in a different perspective. I started to see the ways that God showed up in the middle of the grief as opposed to all the ways He didn’t.

[00:14:43] And so I think that takes a little bit of a perception shift to say, “I’m going to look at this situation, but I’m going to look at it very differently.” And some people need a short amount of time with that and some people need longer with it. I would say the first year after losing Taylor, and of course in that year I also experienced the miscarriage, so that year of loss was really tough because our family did not look the way that Corey and I had really dreamed it to look.

[00:15:13] We had an older daughter, who was 18 months old at the time of Taylor’s loss. We wanted her to have siblings. We wanted to have multiple children, but at that time, God wasn’t allowing it to happen. And I think that it’s only natural that as humans we question that. But at the end of the day, I kept coming back to the ways that God showed up in that really hard time.

[00:15:39] And I think one of the big ways that He showed up was in all of the people that He sent to us to comfort us and to pray over us and to read Scripture with us. And I think back even to the night that I went into labor with Taylor. It was the middle of the night. It was two o’clock in the morning and my contractions were every five minutes, and Corey was the one who made the call to go to the hospital.

[00:16:03] But we had an 18-month-old at home and we needed someone to watch her. And our family was not in the Manhattan area, so we called a really good family friend, and he’s the one who came and stayed with our daughter overnight, and then he was one of the very first calls we made to let him know what had happened when we were in the hospital. And he’s also the one who told our entire church family what happened. And then he came and spent the day with us in the hospital. 

And I think that at the time of the loss, I did not know what a gift that was, having a friend who would sit through your absolute worst day with you, and doing it willingly and lovingly and in a very caring and kind way, and then speaking truth and praying with you through it.

[00:16:54] I think those stories, like I could tell you a hundred more of them that happened in the last six years, but the way that God kept being faithful through those difficult seasons kept me coming back and saying, “This is something I need to plant my foundation in, and this is something that I need to believe in because it’s true, and I’m going to build my foundation on that.”

Ashley Opliger: [00:17:21] Absolutely. I think that we see the face of God in other people, and as believers we’re called to be the hands and feet, and so to be on the receiving end of that and to see God showing up and answering those prayers even when you may not have even prayed them, just Him showing up in those needs. 

[00:17:38] But I think something that really struck me about what you said was through all of that and all the stories that you don’t have time to share right now, but that you saw the Lord working through those years, you had eyes to see them. And I think that’s really important because it’s that perspective shift that you were talking about earlier. It’s, “Am I going to choose to look at it this way or am I going to choose to look at it this way?”

[00:18:03] And we can definitely spend our time focusing our lives on all the things that went wrong, all the bad things that have happened to us, all the ways that God’s not showing up or people aren’t showing up for us. And I want to make it clear, it is okay to talk about the things that have happened to us. I do that all the time through this podcast, talking about my daughter and my dad. 

[00:18:27] But I think what happens if we solely focus on the negative, we can have that victim mentality versus saying, “This was really hard, and this is not something I wanted to be part of my life story,” but moving into the victory of Jesus and saying, “He has overcome this. I’m going to choose to see Him through it and see how He’s going to show up for me.”

[00:18:51] And just the other day on a support group call, I was talking about this with the group of moms. And one of the moms shared that she’s just in a spiritually dry place right now. She doesn’t see God showing up. And I encouraged her just to get a small journal and to write down even one line a day, one little thing a day.

[00:19:11] Because if you’re thinking about writing it down, that’s going to give you eyes to see, “Oh, I’m going to pay attention today. What are You going to do, God, how are You going to show up?”

And sometimes we think it should just be like Him, a booming voice from the sky. But a lot of times it’s through other believers showing up or a kind word or a text that you get.

[00:19:30] And so I think what’s important is to have eyes to see, because He is moving and He is speaking, but sometimes it’s hard to hear or see if we’re not paying attention. 

Maria Childs: [00:19:42] Absolutely. 

Ashley Opliger: [00:19:44] We hope you’re finding encouragement in this episode so far. We want to take a moment to share some resources our ministry offers to support grieving moms like you.

On our website, bridgetscradles.com, you’ll learn more about our nonprofit and find many hope-filled resources, including free e-books to help you plan a memorial or funeral service for your baby, meaningful ways to honor your baby in your heart and home, and gentle guidance for navigating difficult days like due dates, Heaven Days, and holidays.

We invite you to join our community of grieving moms through our Christ-centered support groups, offered both in-person at our headquarters near Wichita, Kansas, and virtually through Hope Online. These gatherings provide a place to find comfort, connection, and biblical hope alongside other moms who understand your pain.

You can view upcoming dates and sign up on our website. While you’re there, we’d also be honored for you to share your baby’s story with us.

For ongoing support, we welcome you to join our private Cradled in Hope Facebook group—a safe space for grieving moms to find friendship and walk their healing journey together.

To stay connected with us and receive faith-filled encouragement, follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @bridgetscradles, @cradledinhope, and my personal page @ashleyopliger. 

Now, let’s get back to the episode.

Ashley Opliger: [00:21:03] So, Maria, we’ve talked about how you have been serving with Bridget’s Cradles with the podcast and making beautiful graphics.

[00:21:10] I want to talk about how that has changed you and the impact serving in general has had on your healing journey. Would you share about how using your gifts in this way helped you honor Taylor and draw you closer to the Lord?

Maria Childs: [00:21:28] Yeah, when I first started volunteering with Bridget’s Cradles, I had not really shared my story publicly.

[00:21:39] I didn’t really know how to, honestly. So when I first started volunteering, I started going down to Wichita to be in that community of other grieving moms. And that I think really shifted my perspective even more toward serving other grieving moms and using my story to glorify God and to show that same love and that same grace to other grieving moms.

Through going to Bridget’s Cradles events, I would say each event, it got a little easier to tell maybe a different part of my story. So maybe the first event that I attended, I said like the basics. I said, “Taylor was born on March 30th. She weighed this much. She was born at this time, and I’m her mom.”

[00:22:31] And in the second event that I went to, I maybe shared a little bit more about that story and how it impacted me. But with every time that I shared my story at a Bridget’s Cradles event, I got more confident in sharing my story outside of that community of grieving moms. And that eventually morphed into me sharing my story in my church community, in my local community, and beyond.

[00:22:56] One of the questions that I think I’ve always struggled with answering, I think grieving moms struggle with in general, is: How many kids do you have? And right away, when people would ask me that question when I was out at the grocery store, I usually just told them I had one. And then later, I felt really guilty about it because I didn’t include the two babies that I had in Heaven.

[00:23:19] But I eventually got to a place where my answer to that question is, “I have three babies on earth, and I have two babies in Heaven.” But that wouldn’t have happened without the process of going to Bridget’s Cradles events and interacting with other grieving moms who also shared their story with me and helped me understand the greater picture of how grief affects us all very differently.

Ashley Opliger: [00:23:47] Yes, absolutely. And I know for me, the answer to that question depends too on the situation and who it is. Right? Because there are people and situations where you do have time to elaborate if you say. “I have a daughter in Heaven,” and they want to know more. Sometimes they just don’t say anything at all, and it’s kind of awkward.

[00:24:06] But I’ve chosen personally to go ahead and include Bridget because, like you, the times that I have not, I felt really guilty, like I’m dishonoring Bridget. And I just want to say to anyone who’s listening who has ever done that, you are not dishonoring your baby in Heaven. And we are not saying there is a right or wrong way to answer this question. 

But I love what you’re saying, Maria, about how you wanted to answer it in a particular way and you needed practice, in a sense, and permission from other grieving moms to say, “Yes, it’s okay to include.” And it’s also the more that you practice saying that out in the community, when you’re asked that, it just becomes your go-to response. 

[00:24:48] And then you’ve experienced the different reactions that you get to that, and it’s easier to handle that. Because I know for me, a lot of times I didn’t want to say it because I didn’t know what they were going to say, and I would feel rejected or that Bridget was being rejected if they didn’t acknowledge it. 

But now I’ve come to peace with if I say that and they say nothing, or they don’t even say, “I’m so sorry,” because a lot of people really don’t know how to handle that. Right?

[00:25:15] I’ve come to peace with: I’ve said what I need to say, and I’ve honored how I want to share about my family, and I’m more comfortable with uncomfortable silence or situations.

[00:25:31] And maybe you’re getting there too. And I just want to encourage anyone who’s listening, those kinds of questions are really hard, and it’s hard to navigate how to handle it. 

And it’s okay to say, “This is how I’m going to do it, and I’m going to do it this way every time,” or to change over time how you want to handle that, or even to change depending on the person and situation, if it feels like a safe person and a safe situation. But I love that the Lord has brought you on that journey to feel confident in sharing about Taylor and Jellybean.

[00:26:03] Would you share about some of the events and things that you’ve been doing up in Manhattan that you have really gotten bold and confident in sharing your story and helping other women?

Maria Childs: [00:26:14] Yeah. Every year in Manhattan, there is an event honoring all the babies that have been gone too soon and gone to Heaven.

[00:26:22] And so this event we got involved in in 2019, so it was after both of our losses in October. It’s held on the weekend in honor of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, October 15th. And that event is usually like a 5K run and also has a butterfly release with it, and some years they don’t do the 5K.

[00:26:46] So the last six years it’s been an on-and-off event. And with COVID, the event did not rebound well after the pandemic, and so they’re really in what I’ll call growing years and trying to bring this event back in Manhattan.

And so this year in October, I actually was the guest speaker for the event. And I shared our family’s story of losing two babies at the Manhattan Hospital and growing our family in Manhattan and just generally what that has been like, and also gave just like an uplifting message to the other grieving parents in the audience about how you can go on and live your life with hope, even though this really sad thing happened to you and your family and what that looks like. 

[00:27:37] So our hospital is a Bridget’s Cradles hospital, and before the event, I called Ashley. I called you, and I asked for some keepsakes, some of the little heart and square keepsakes, and some information about Hope Online and Wave of Light and your book. 

I think I asked for just a variety of materials that I could take with me and set up a little table that sent grieving parents to Bridget’s Cradles, to the podcast, to the resources that this ministry provides. And that was very well received. 

[00:28:16] There was another table that had similar resources, and they knew about Bridget’s Cradles, but they didn’t have a local contact or someone who had been affected by that ministry. So it was just overall nice to bring resources to grieving parents at an event that was all about honoring their babies.

Ashley Opliger: [00:28:37] Well I’m so proud of you, stepping out and being in a place where you share your babies’ stories and you encourage other families and bring resources to your community. So I’m so proud of you as a friend and as a grieving mom. 

I just want to encourage any mom who’s listening. If this is something that’s ever been on your heart to do in your local community, this might be the gentle nudge of the Spirit to say, “You can do this too. You are qualified to do it.”

[00:29:03] And if you need any resources from Bridget’s Cradles, we’re always here. Just send us an email. We send the little memory keepsakes, the hearts and the squares, and each of those little knitted or crocheted hearts and squares, they have a little booklet with all the information about the different resources we have for families. And so we are happy to send those to anyone who needs them.

[00:29:23] Just want to share that with anyone who’s thinking about doing something like this at their local hospital or in their community, at their church or something like that. 

[00:29:36] So speaking of resources and Christ-centered community, we also have a Facebook group, which, you’re one of the moderators in that group, and you welcome grieving moms in there. And so would you share what that’s been like for you leading in that group, but also how you’ve sensed your babies in Heaven’s legacies, shining through all the different things that you worked on through Bridget’s Cradles and beyond?

Maria Childs: [00:29:59] Yeah. If you’ve joined the Cradled in Hope Facebook group, you know that there’s a number of questions that you answer to join the group about your babies in Heaven.

[00:30:10] And one of the things that I do is review those requests to the group and then admit them into the group, but I also welcome them with a personal Facebook message through my personal Facebook account. 

[00:30:26] And we just started this not too long ago, but through those Facebook messages, I have connected with grieving moms who are fresh after their loss. They just lost their baby one to maybe a month ago. 

And I share about my babies in Heaven in those messages. And the welcome messages are very well received. I typically get a response back from the moms, and they share more about their story, or they ask me specific questions about my story. 

[00:30:59] And through volunteering, I have been able to connect with grieving moms and hear their stories, but also share mine, and they’re so different, just the perspective of looking at it six years after the fact and then being fresh and raw in that grief. It’s been a very rewarding experience to be on the other end of welcoming those moms to that group. 

[00:31:26] Additionally, I have had people in my personal life who, at the time that we experienced our loss, they had not experienced loss, and because we talk about our loss openly and publicly, they have reached out to me after they’ve experienced a loss. 

[00:31:48] I believe in the power of this community, and I believe in the power of grieving as a community and grieving as a body of Christ, because you heal through sharing your story with other people, and then you help them through their story and their heartbreak because they feel less alone when they hear your story back. And I just think that that is so powerful, and it’s a unique thing about the ministry that you’ve created, Ashley.

Ashley Opliger: [00:32:18] Well, thank you. And thank you for being a part of the Facebook group, you and Heather Cohen, who has also been on this podcast, so you can go back and listen to her story. You both welcome moms, and so if you don’t get a personal DM from Maria, if you join this, you’ll probably hear from Heather.

[00:32:37] And I think something that’s really important to me personally leading this ministry is the one-on-one connections and having the community, having someone that you know is reaching out and cares about you. 

And to your point, you’re six years out. I’m 11 years out. We are, I don’t necessarily say on the other side, because there’s still grief there, and I know for you too, and we talk about that all the time, how much we miss our babies. 

[00:33:25] But I think that you and I have both experienced a significant level of healing through the years, and it’s very different than the raw and realness of that fresh grief. 

And we talk about, in our support groups and our Declaration of Faith, about this analogy of some of us are on the shore, some of us are in the waves, like out in the deep waves, and they’re like threatening to drown us. And then some of us are standing still in the waves that are lapping up, but it’s not as overwhelming because the waves aren’t like crushing us.

[00:33:42] And so our analogy has always been: The people who are on the shore will enter back into the waves to be with those moms. But also, I think it’s helpful for the women who are in the waves to see that there are grieving moms on the shore, that it will get better. It takes time, it takes support, it takes Jesus healing our hearts, but you’re not going to be in those waves forever.

[00:34:02] And so I just appreciate that you’re willing, even though you’re on the shore now, to go back into the waves to meet moms where they are.

[00:34:14] So, Maria, you have been part of the Cradled in Hope Podcast since the beginning, and you’ve also read the book and been on this journey with me. You came down from Manhattan to celebrate the book launch, which meant so much to me. 

[00:34:29] And Heather, the mom that we’ve been talking about as well, she flew from Alabama to come to the book launch. And so it was so special for me to be surrounded by so many women that have been a part of this ministry and have been serving with me to celebrate together. So thank you for coming.

But I’d love for you to share about your experience as a grieving mom, how those resources have ministered to your heart. And I know with the podcast, not only do you listen to the podcast, but then you see all of the quotes as you’re working on the graphics.

[00:35:01] And so you kind of get it twice as you’re listening to it and then also reading the quotes. So would you share a little bit more about the book and the podcast, and if there are particular episodes or chapters that I’ve spoken to you in a deep way?

Maria Childs: [00:35:16] Yeah, I think listening to the podcast and reading the book goes back to the sense of community that we’ve talked about throughout this episode, but I think that listening to the podcast and reading the quotes, sometimes I think about is how different every grieving mom’s story is, yet sometimes I read a quote and it sounds like exactly how I feel.

[00:35:41] And so it could be a mom who experienced four miscarriages or two stillbirths and a miscarriage, or they just had one miscarriage. Like everyone’s story is so unique yet somehow, and I think this is the work of the Holy Spirit, somehow there’s this bond between each story that links us all as grieving moms on this earth and in this broken world, trying to make sense or understand why something like this would happen to us. 

I think listening to the podcast has added an extra layer of a community of grieving moms that I wouldn’t meet at a local event. There are moms from across the nation who are also sharing their baby’s story, and they have the ability to connect on a different level.

[00:36:31] Reading the book was a real treat because you and I have been friends for almost four years, and so I know you on a personal level. I’ve watched you at Bridget’s Cradles events share Bridget’s story, but your book, I feel like just really spoke to me and a lot of the feelings that I’ve had in my journey, and even you and I’s stories are totally different.

[00:36:54] The chapter that really sticks out for me from your book is the chapter about being Homesick for Heaven, and just living in a broken world and looking forward to the day that one day you go to Heaven and you meet Jesus and He introduces you to your baby. 

And that is something I think about a lot because things just happen or things trigger my grief at work or at church or whatever. And I just think, “This is just one of those moments that I feel homesick for Heaven.” And I have went back and reread that chapter multiple times since your book has released.

Ashley Opliger: [00:37:35] Absolutely. That’s also my favorite chapter because I feel that all the more I’m not a citizen of this earth. I’m a citizen of Heaven. 

[00:37:45] And this broken world can make us so weary, and it’s, oh my goodness, it’s one thing after next and there’s so much grief and loss and pain. And you think. “If this is everything that life is like, this is so depressing and sad.” Right? But as Christians, we know that “there’s an expiration date on our suffering, that’s a quote from that chapter, and that we have a hope-filled future in Heaven.

[00:38:09] And I really wanted to end the book on that note, to be anticipating and excited for Jesus’ return and for our future in Heaven with our babies. So I’m glad that you mentioned that. 

[00:38:19] And I love that you shared about how the different podcast episodes, yes, they are different stories, but something I always say about this podcast is that every single story is different, but the truth we’re sharing is the same. We’re sharing the Gospel, but everybody grieves a little different.

And so I have found, even as the host, I glean something from each mom because it’s something that they said in a particular way that really resonates with me. And it’s, “Oh, yes, you just put words to this ache or to this emotion I’ve been feeling.”

[00:38:53] Or they have a different way of explaining biblical truths, and it has really helped me in my grieving journey, and I’ve found that from each episode and from each guest. And so I love that you shared that, yes, the stories are different, but the truth is the same. 

Maria, as we close this episode, I would love to know if you have a favorite Bible verse or some word of hope that you would like to offer grieving moms, whether they’re in the waves or on the shore. Would you share some encouragement with that Mom right now?

Maria Childs: [00:39:27] My favorite Bible verse is Matthew 6:34, and it’s on my work computer. I have it on a sticky note that sits right there, and then I also have it on a sticky note that I use as a bookmark in my Bible, but it says, “Refuse to worry about tomorrow, but deal with each challenge that comes your way, one day at a time.”

And I think that that has remained true; six weeks after I lost my babies and now six years after, I have had to rely on God to provide the next move. And sometimes all you can do is look one day ahead. 

[00:40:03] And worry, I have had my fair share of worries, especially welcoming babies after loss. I think that comes with a lot of worry. And I have had to place my trust in God and say, “He’s got it. He’s in that moment. He has it under control, and I’m not alone in whatever happens from this point forward.” And I think that has been comforting to me, and I hope that it is comforting to other grieving moms who share that today.

Ashley Opliger: [00:40:35]  I love that. It’s the idea of daily bread, of His mercies are new every morning. And we can’t change anything about the future. We can only live in the present and rely on Him and surrender that control, which is so hard. So thank you for that encouragement. Maria, would you close us in prayer?

Maria Childs: [00:40:55]  Yes, I’d love to.

Dear God, thank You so much for Ashley and Bridget’s Cradles and this ministry that shares You with grieving moms and their families. We thank You for bringing us together and being with us as we grieve our babies while on this earth and raise babies in our houses before we get to meet You one day in Heaven, a day that we look forward to every day we think about it. 

We ask that you continue to provide for us and tell us what the next right thing is. And we ask that we use the next right thing to honor You in everything we do. In Your Name we pray. Amen.

Ashley Opliger: [00:41:41] Amen. Thank you so much, Maria. It’s been such a joy to have you on this side of the podcast.

Maria Childs: [00:41:49] Thank you, Ashley.

Ashley Opliger: [00:41:52] Thank you for listening to the Cradled in Hope Podcast. We pray that you found hope and healing in today’s episode. 

Don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss new episodes when they release each month. You can also find this episode’s show notes and a full transcript on our website at bridgetscradles.com/podcast. 

Be sure to sign up for our email list on our website, so that we can keep you updated on upcoming podcast episodes, support groups, and other hope-filled resources.

You can also purchase my book, Cradled in Hope, wherever books are sold. It’s a biblical guide for grieving moms to find hope after miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant loss. Written from the depths of my own heartbreak, I share vulnerably about losing my daughter, Bridget, and how God met me in my grief. Through Scripture, theology, and soul-deep reflections, Cradled in Hope offers biblical wisdom, practical guidance, and the eternal hope of seeing your baby again in Heaven through faith in Jesus.

To accompany the book, I’ve also created the Cradled in Hope Guided Journal—a beautiful companion that includes space to write your responses to the discussion questions, full Scripture passages from each chapter, and additional reflection pages and guided charts to help you process your grief and draw you closer to Jesus. You can download the free digital version on my author website at AshleyOpliger.com/Journal, or order the printed version on Amazon if you prefer to write by hand.

Are you looking for ways to use your grief for good? Visit our website to learn how you can volunteer or donate to Bridget’s Cradles in memory of a baby in Heaven. 

Do you want a quick way to make an eternal impact? Share this episode with a friend or leave a review on Apple Podcasts to help more grieving moms find the same comfort you’ve received here.

Thank you so much for listening and sharing. Until next time, we will be praying for you. And remember, as Jesus cradles our babies in Heaven, He cradles us in hope. Though we grieve, we do not grieve without hope.