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In this episode, Ashley walks through Chapter 13 of Cradled in Hope, “With the Same Comfort: When You Want to Use Your Grief for Good.” She reflects on how God can use our heartbreak to minister to others and reminds grieving moms that purpose flows from a transformed heart—not from striving or pressure to “make meaning” out of tragedy.

Ashley shares a powerful story about the day of Bridget’s funeral and how their procession unknowingly passed by the future headquarters of Bridget’s Cradles—a building not yet built, but already known to God. This moment, years later, became a testimony to His faithfulness and sovereign plan.

In this episode, Ashley shared:

• The story of Bridget’s funeral day and the moment sunbeams broke through the clouds over the cemetery
• Why grief feels unbearable at first and how Ashley once told God, “Nothing good will ever come from this”
• How years of walking through loss, including her dad’s death, revealed that God could redeem her pain for good
• A reflection on 2 Corinthians 1:3–4 and how we’re called to comfort others with the same comfort we’ve received from God
• Why moms don’t need to strive to honor their babies—their value is inherent, and they are already honored in Heaven
• The distinction between serving God from love and gratitude vs. striving to earn worth or validation
• How Bridget’s Cradles is not just a grief project but a ministry rooted in obedience and the Great Commission
• Encouragement that everyone’s calling will look different—and why obedience in small acts is where impact begins
• How her ministry started with a single cradle in Bridget’s nursery, and grew through thousands of small, unseen yeses
• An explanation of the difference between purpose (which is always to serve Jesus) and calling (which is specific to each woman)
• Testimonies of grieving moms who’ve found unique ways to serve others and share the hope of Christ
• A reminder that we may never see the fruit of our obedience here on earth—but God sees every seed planted
• An encouragement to keep serving, keep shining, and keep running your race until the day you hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Ashley reminds us that we are called to serve the one who sees us—Jesus—and to love the one in front of us, even in small ways. We don’t have to do something grand. We just have to begin.

Journaling Prompt
The Lord rejoices in seeing the work begin. What is holding you back from getting started? Reflect on any fears, doubts, insecurities, or confusion you may have. What will help you confront these obstacles?

Healing Step
Get started. Even if it’s a small act, the Lord will be delighted with your obedience. Send the text, make the call, share your story, write the post, volunteer, donate, do a random act of kindness—take the next step.

You can download the free Random Acts of Kindness in Memory of Your Baby eBook and printable cards at bridgetscradles.com/rak.

Full transcript below.

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Ashley Opliger: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Cradled in Hope Podcast Book Club.

I’m your host, Ashley Opliger—grieving mom, author of Cradled in Hope, and founder of Bridget’s Cradles. I’m so honored to walk with you through my book, one chapter at a time, as we navigate the heartbreak of losing a baby together.

After my daughter Bridget went to Heaven at 24 weeks, I wrestled with deep sadness and complex questions about God’s goodness. But through that grief, Jesus showed me that He not only cradles our babies in Heaven, He also holds our broken hearts here on earth.

Whether you’re reading along or simply listening in, this is a safe space for your sorrow—a place where your tears, questions, and raw emotions are welcome. Each episode, we’ll reflect on a chapter of Cradled in Hope and gently walk together from heartbreak to healing, and from pain to purpose.

My prayer is that this podcast will remind you that you are not alone in your grief and, most importantly, that it will point you to Jesus, the only One who can truly heal your heart. Through faith in Him, there is hope to see your baby again, and He will be with you every step from here to Heaven.

So wherever you are in your journey, I invite you to join me—and together, we will grieve with hope.

Let’s begin.

Ashley Opliger: [00:01:22] Hi friends. Welcome back. Today we are diving into Chapter 13, With the Same Comfort: When You Want to Use Your Grief For Good. This chapter is all about allowing God to use our pain for a purpose. And this chapter flows from the last chapter, which was about the work that God does in our hearts as He sanctifies us.

[00:01:41] And so I believe that the natural overflow of a changed heart and transformation in our lives is that fruit will come from it, and that is what this chapter is about, is using our grief for good and for God’s glory. 

Let’s start by focusing on the key passage from the chapter, which is 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 

And so as you can tell, this verse was the inspiration behind the chapter title With The Same Comfort, because I am talking about the comfort that God gives us, using that same comfort to then comfort others. 

So let’s dive in to the opening story, which is a flashback to October 27th, 2014, which was five days after Bridget was born into Heaven, and it was the day that we had her funeral and buried her. 

And so after the memorial service at the church, we were following the hearse from the church to the burial site at the cemetery, and we just followed the hearse from the church, which is on the west side of our town to the cemetery, which is on the north, kind of east side of town.

[00:03:07] And so we just followed them. We didn’t take our own route or directions, and the particular route that we took, took us up to a highway on the north side of town that we didn’t travel that often at the time. Now we use the highway all the time, but at the time, this wasn’t a road that we were on very often. 

And so we drove on this highway and as we turned off the highway to get off on the street where the cemetery is, it was a very cloudy day, and as we were driving south, there was a break in the clouds. 

[00:03:41] And the break in the clouds was right over the cemetery, and there were these gorgeous sunbeams just shining down over the cemetery. And I remember it just being such a moment for me in this surreal place where I’m like, “My husband’s driving my car and we’re following the hearse. My daughter’s body is in her casket inside this hearse. And it just feels so surreal, like, how can this be happening? How is this our life?”

[00:04:05] And in the midst of this numbness and sadness and heartbreak, we see these sunbeams. And I took my phone out and I took a picture to capture the moment, and it wasn’t until years later when I was writing this book that I went back and looked at that photo and realized that photo was taken on this particular street that we now live off of, because we have since moved from where we were living at the time and we built our house closer to the cemetery. 

[00:04:29] And now that road that I took the picture of, that is now the road that I live off of and is very close also to our headquarters for our ministry. And the reason I’m telling you this story is when I looked at that picture, it dawned on me that Bridget’s funeral procession, as we were following the hearse, we actually drove by where Bridget’s Cradles now lives. 

And at the time, that building had not been built yet. We rent from our landlord, and so we didn’t even know him yet. Obviously, Bridget’s Cradles had not existed as a nonprofit yet, but obviously God knew the story that He was unfolding through Bridget’s life and death.

[00:05:19] But what really stood out to me in this story was that on this dark, sad day where we were burying our daughter, we drove by what would later be the ministry that God was going to start in her memory and for His glory. And I did not know that. I could not see that. We just drove past it, having no understanding that this was going to one day happen.

[00:05:43] And I think that’s such a picture of His faithfulness, when I look back on that picture, was that yes, God knew, in that moment as we were driving and we were burying our daughter and we felt like all hope was lost and everything was crumbling beneath us, that He had a plan and He was going to build this building and we would one day move into the building and be ministering to thousands of families across the country with cradles, with our podcast, eventually with this book.

[00:06:10] And I couldn’t see it then, but God did. And that just really comforted me that He did know that good was coming from it, because there were so many days that I did not believe that anything good would come from it. 

In fact, if you remember from an earlier chapter, I was laying in bed on bed rest and I said that to God. I said to God, “Nothing good will ever come from this,” because it felt like the worst possible thing that could happen to me.

[00:06:37] And now that I’m older, I’ve been through a lot of different trials, including the loss of my daughter and the loss of my dad. And I’ve walked through some of my greatest fears. I think for any of us losing a child or a parent in a tragic way, it would be at the top of our list of greatest fears, and I really never thought that I would be able to survive those kinds of things.

[00:07:00] And not only have I survived them, and I’m not diminishing how much grief and pain has been in the process, but God has really not only been able to heal my heart and bring joy back into my life, but also has been able to use my pain for His glory and for good and to help other people. And I have found so much healing in knowing that my grief is not wasted, that all the pain and the suffering is not in vain.

[00:07:29] And so that’s what I want to talk about in this chapter, because I believe that is such an important part of our healing, is that God does work in us so that eventually [He] can do work through us and we can help other people on their journey.

[00:07:42] And I know that it can feel overwhelming to feel this pressure of, “I need to find purpose in my pain,” and, “How am I going to honor my baby? How am I going to honor my baby’s life?” And that can feel like an obligation or a burden, if not surrendered in the right way. And so that’s an aspect of this that I want to discuss before we dive in.

[00:08:06] I have a section in this chapter called the Holy Grail of Grief because I do feel like it’s the Holy Grail, is to find purpose and to make meaning through it. And I do believe that God desires that for us, but I don’t think we have to do anything to honor our baby. They are already honored. Their life has inherent value because they were made in the image of God.

[00:08:28] They are in a perfect Paradise. They don’t need anything from us because they are in the presence of Jesus Himself, and they have everything they could ever want or need. And if given the choice, I don’t think anyone in Heaven, including our babies, would want to come back to this earth. And I know that’s really hard to say, but I think if we went to Heaven, we wouldn’t want to come back to earth because Heaven is perfection. 

[00:08:46] And as you know and as I know, living on this broken earth and dealing with grief and brokenness, there is so much pain and sadness here, and so many problems and so much heartache, and that does not exist in Heaven. And so we just have to understand that they don’t need anything from us, that they are honored.

[00:09:09] And so all of this that we’re doing is not meant to be this striving to honor them perfectly, to strive for our salvation. We don’t have to earn our salvation. God loves us just as we are. We don’t have to do anything to earn His love. 

[00:09:25] The distinction is, and I’ve shared this in earlier chapters, but I want to say it again because it’s so important. The distinction is that when He comes into our lives, He changes our hearts, and in that process, we then, out of gratitude for His salvation and out of love for Him, desire to serve Him and to serve others. And so that is a huge distinction of trying to earn God’s love through service versus serving Him out of His love that He’s given us.

[00:09:56] And that’s exactly what this opening verse in 2 Corinthians is talking about, is that we are using the same comfort, the same love, the same peace, the same abundant life that God is giving us, to instill that and give that to other people. 

[00:10:11] And so let’s get back to this Holy Grail of Grief. I basically am talking about how a lot of times we think finding purpose in our pain is what is going to validate our baby’s life or vindicate their loss. But God assigned your baby’s worth at conception and sealed their salvation on the cross. So their life and your life already has been redeemed by Christ’s death and resurrection for eternity. 

[00:10:34] And so even though you might look at my life and think, “Oh, well, you’re doing ministry and you’re doing a podcast and a book and whatnot,” none of that is for me “striving to tip the scales of my suffering” is how I wrote it in my book, because I realized early on there was never going to be enough that I could do to fully honor her or to honor Jesus. 

[00:11:00] This is a direct quote from my book. I said, “If my motivation was to outweigh the magnitude of my loss, Bridget’s life, with good deeds, I would never be able to overcome the imbalance. Her life was too valuable and I could never do enough to express my love for her. Similarly, we could never earn our salvation from Jesus. We are saved by grace through faith, not by works.” That’s Ephesians 2:8-9. 

[00:11:23] So we do not have to strive to try to balance out the weight of our sorrows. Rather the last chapter that we talked about, More Than Gold, Jesus is the One that changes our lives and our hearts. 

[00:11:36] And out of our gratitude and love and respect for Him, we just naturally want to serve Him and to serve other people, because that is the heart of God. He has a heart for the broken and for the lost, for the weak, for the outcast. 

[00:11:51] So I know it might sound a little bit contradicting to say, “I am encouraging you to use your grief for good,” yet at the same time that you don’t have to do that. And so that’s why I’m saying, really, we are doing this out of gratitude in our love for Jesus. 

And so there might be people that assume that Bridget’s Cradles was a grief project for me or continues to be a grief project for me. But if that were all that it was, if it was just trying to satisfy my grief, eventually it would fizzle out because I would never be able to satisfy my grief in that way. 

[00:12:26] But if I am serving in ministry to fulfill my life’s purpose, which is to share the Gospel and to make disciples, that is a very different motivation. And so I hope that makes sense as to where our hearts should be in this process. 

[00:12:41] And so for each of you listening today, each of you is going to have a different assignment, a different calling, different giftings that the Lord has given you. It’s going to look different than mine, and I think it’s important, as you’re listening to this episode, not to extrapolate my experience, to think that you have to start a ministry or write a book or host a podcast. 

[00:13:03] Really, anything that you do for the Lord is going to be very specific to what He asked of you, and what’s most important is that you’re obedient to what He’s asking you. 

And everything that He’s ever asked me to do has always started small. When I started Bridget’s Cradles, I didn’t know where we were going to be 10 years into the ministry or that the podcast was going to happen or that the book was going to happen. Even though I had desires in my heart to write a book and to be an author, but I didn’t know where everything was going to lead and how everything was going to pan out. 

[00:13:35] And I think what’s important is that we really just focus on the small acts of obedience, the small things that He asks us to do. And I share more of my stories starting Bridget’s Cradles in this chapter and how the Lord spoke to me in those moments of what His plan was, but ultimately it’s just been thousands and thousands and thousands of yeses that are unseen. 

Most of the things that I’ve done in the ministry to serve are behind the scenes. And what He has done through all of those small acts of obedience has grown the ministry over the years, and He has included other people to have their yeses be a part of that.

[00:14:19] And so along with our staff and volunteers and all the amazing people that donate and support the ministry, all of those thousands, if not millions of small acts of obedience has turned into what Bridget’s Cradles is today. 

[00:14:34] And we are not responsible for the big picture. We are to obey Him in the small acts, and He is going to take our sacrifice and our offering and those acts and turn it into a harvest. In other words, we plant the seeds and He is responsible for the harvest. 

[00:14:52] And so I know this can feel daunting, but I think we often overcomplicate it. As believers, we all have the same simple purpose, which is to love God and to love others, which is from Matthew 22:36-40.

[00:15:07] And the Great Commission, which is found in Matthew 28:19, outlines our primary duty, which is to make disciples of all nations and baptize them in His name. 

And so ultimately, if we are looking for this elusive Holy Grail of Grief, I can point you in the right direction, and you will find your purpose when you find Jesus, because He is your ultimate purpose.

[00:15:29] And if you are just trying to fulfill purpose to fulfill an inner need or alleviate your grief, you’re going to miss it. You will miss your purpose. But if you serve Jesus, you will discover your life’s purpose. And I talk more about the difference between purpose and calling in this chapter. 

And what I love about the Cradled in Hope Guided Journal is that we have several pages that are devoted to really diving into this and helping you discover what your calling is.

[00:16:01] We have a diagram that you can fill out and a bunch of questions that you answer to help you understand what your calling is, because we know what your purpose is. It’s to serve Jesus and to serve others and to make disciples. But your calling is more specific to how you live out that purpose, so that’s tailored specifically to how God made you and what interests you.

[00:16:24] And I would love for you to go get the free Guided Journal. There’s the free digital one on my website at AshleyOpliger.com/Journal. We also recently released a printed journal, which is great because it is a workbook style that you can write in, and there’s journaling space for the entire book and this particular exercise, specifically, and you can get that on Amazon. It’s the Cradled in Hope Guided Journal, and we will link that here in the show notes. 

[00:16:52] But what I have found is that after you have lost a baby, your calling might change. Your purpose hasn’t changed. As a believer, we know what your purpose is, but your calling might change and, and it might not.

[00:17:04] You might have something that you were passionate about before you lost your baby, and that’s still what God’s asking you to do. But it’s also possible that this life-changing experience has changed your outlook on those that are grieving, and you feel so much more compassion for grieving moms or grieving people.

[00:17:22] And so I think that just spending time in prayer and asking the Lord for direction is so important, and just knowing that God does have a purpose and a plan and a calling for your life. 

I shared in my book, on page 221 and 222, some examples of some grieving moms that I know personally from the ministry, and I talk about the calling that God has given them and the ways that they have specifically served other people after losing a baby.

[00:17:55] And they are in the book because they are shining examples of surrendering to the Lord, allowing God to use their grief. But their examples are not for you to say, “This is what I need to be doing.” The Lord might have something very, very different for you, but hopefully their testimony and their service will inspire you to be thinking: How might God use your grief for good? 

[00:18:18] And so I share some examples in my book of different moms that I know and how they have really used their pain to serve others. And one of my favorite statements is from my friend Kelsey, and she lost her son David. He was stillborn at 17 weeks and their family received one of our cradles.

[00:18:36] And I love what she said, because she now serves with us in our ministry. She said, “If David were here, I would spend my time with him. Since he’s not, I’m spending this time serving others in his memory.” 

And that statement really made me think, “What if our motherhood for our babies in Heaven looked like serving others on earth?”

[00:18:58] And I do believe that healing helps us get outside of our grief and it shifts our focus to serving others rather than solely looking inward. Not that we shouldn’t be looking inward, and not that we shouldn’t be processing our grief and lamenting, as we have talked about throughout this Book Club and throughout my book, but I do think that serving others really is a huge shift in our grief because it allows us to move forward and to have purpose.

Ashley Opliger: [00:19:25] 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: [00:20:44] Something unique about this chapter is that I do some flashbacks to different points in my journey. I started the chapter with the five days after Bridget’s birth, and then I later have a story that I share five months after Bridget’s birth about starting the ministry in Bridget’s nursery.

[00:21:03] And then I have a story about five years after Bridget’s birth about God leading us to the headquarters building that I talked about earlier, the one that we drove by during Bridget’s funeral procession. And then later I skipped to 10 years after Bridget’s birth, when I’m actually sitting in that building writing this very book.

[00:21:24] And so the idea behind showing you these different snapshots in time in my grieving journey is just to show how the Lord’s hand has been on my life and on Bridget’s life and on our story throughout time. 

And each part of the story, we didn’t know the full picture. And even as I sit now, I don’t know what God’s going to do in this next year or in the next five years or 10 years, but what I do now, which is showing up each day and asking the Lord what He wants from me, the decisions that I make today are going to impact where He takes Bridget’s Cradles in five years or 10 years.

[00:22:01] And, Lord willing, when we get to that point, we’ll look back and say, “Those small decisions that we made in 2025, and our obedience just serving Him day in and day out. has led to where we are now.” 

[00:22:13] And that is truly the story of Bridget’s Cradles, of where we are at 10 years into ministry. It’s just 10 years of obedience. 

And so I encourage you at the end of this chapter, I have a section called Small Beginnings, and I just talk about how our ministry started in Bridget’s empty nursery. And it started with this little cradle that my mom had knit for her granddaughter. And at the time we had no idea that we would eventually be sending 30,000 cradles a year out to 1,600 hospitals in all 50 states and growing by the week. We had no idea that that’s where we were going to be. 

[00:22:49] But I think what’s important is just knowing that these things don’t all of a sudden happen overnight, that at the beginning, we just served a few local hospitals. And then from there, the Lord continued to grow it. 

[00:23:01] And for you, it may not be a ministry that you start, but it might be the ministry of presence, and it might not be a formal ministry that you start, a nonprofit. But it will be a ministry of some sort. It could be the ministry of presence in other people’s lives, taking someone out to lunch or coffee that is struggling, sending an encouraging text to someone that you know is going through a hard time. 

I think a lot of times we think that we need to be doing these big things for the Lord, but I really do believe that Jesus just wants us to start and He wants us to do the small things.

[00:23:41] And so I share that my advice for you is to get started, that the enemy wants to thwart you from being obedient by placing fears and doubts in your mind. But I love what Zechariah said when he prophesied about building the Second Temple, “Do not despise these small beginnings for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.” That’s Zechariah 4:10. 

[00:24:03] And so I want to encourage all of us to be women of faith who take action and start the work, knowing that our Father is going to rejoice over the small beginnings and what we’re doing. We don’t have to do something grand to bring God glory. He rejoices in small acts of obedience, in those small yeses, that we show up and we surrender and we say, “God, what do You want us to do today?”

[00:24:35] And truly our testimony and sharing our story is how we overcome the enemy, and it’s a way that we can present the Gospel to others. And I talk about the significance of sharing your story and how powerful that is to be vulnerable with others and open up about your own grief and loss, because that is what gives other people permission to open up and share about theirs.

[00:24:54] And so I mention when Paul was imprisoned, he wrote to the Philippians saying, “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the Gospel.” And that’s because he was ministering to the guards that were at the prison, and sharing the Gospel with them. And so what really stood out to me was that he thought of his imprisonment as time that was spent for Christ.

[00:25:20] And I just want to say I do believe that we can view the loss of our baby in the same way. What if losing a baby has really served to advance the Gospel and your grief is for Christ? Because when you’re grieving, there are so many people who are watching you grieve and are watching how you’re going to cope with this tragic event.

[00:25:47] And in an interesting way, you now have a platform to share the hope you found in Jesus. And that doesn’t mean you have to do it perfectly, and that doesn’t mean that you’re not going to be grieving, because I do think it’s healthy for other people to see grief, to know that yes, even though you’re a Christian, and yes, you believe in Heaven, and yes you do have hope, but also it’s okay to grieve and lament. I think that’s very healthy to show people that. 

[00:26:02] But in the midst of your grief, you can also show them that you do have hope and that you do trust in Jesus despite this tragic loss in your life. I believe that our testimony becomes stronger through our suffering. And when we’re vulnerable with other people, they’ll be vulnerable with us and we open the door to reach people with the Gospel.

[00:26:22] And that’s really what I’m wanting to encourage you in this chapter, knowing that you are called to obedience, not the outcome. God will bring the harvest. He will take the seeds that you plant and He will use them, and you might not see how He’s using them. Honestly, in this ministry, I will never know all the babies and the families who receive our cradles. I won’t meet them until I get to Heaven. 

[00:26:48] And I think it’s important to know that when God asks you to do something, you may not fully understand what He’s doing and what He’s planting and how He’s going to use those seeds. He is going to write that story and I believe that it’s going to be a good one.

[00:27:09] And how I close this chapter, I talk about this phrase called “for the one”, which is a phrase that we use at Bridget’s Cradles, which is “do it for the one,” because if you were to come to Kechi, Kansas, and step inside our headquarters, you would see bins of cradles from floor to ceiling. And that can be very overwhelming to see thousands and thousands of cradles, knowing that one day all of those cradles will hold a baby that was stillborn and is now in Heaven.

[00:27:30] And so we have knitters and crocheters that create the cradles all across the country. They mail them to us, and then we have volunteers that sew the lace and the charms on them, and then we tag the cradles and then we ship them out to hospitals nationwide. And so there are so many hands that touch these cradles, and there’s thousands of them that we’re processing every single month.

[00:27:51] And so when you see a sea of thousands of cradles, it could be easy to overlook that each one is going to be a very specific baby in a very specific family, that God already knows their name and their faces. 

And that’s something I don’t ever want to lose sight of as the Executive Director, and I don’t want my team and volunteers to lose sight of, that every single cradle, there is a volunteer and a family and a baby behind that cradle, and there’s a story. And so as we are packing these hospital boxes, we believe that God already knows the baby’s name and the family who will hold their baby in the cradle. 

[00:28:30] And I think it’s very important to have that mentality, is that everything we’re doing is for the one that God sees and knows and cares. And no matter what it is that you are doing, having that same mentality of reaching for the one, of loving one person, is so important because I believe that’s God’s heart. 

 [00:28:51] The Bible tells us that Jesus as the Good Shepherd would come after the one, that He would leave the 99 to come after the one, that He loves us so much that He is very intentional with each of us in how He pursues and loves us.

[00:29:06] And as Christ followers, I believe we should have that same intention of really seeing people in their suffering and sharing our hope, whether it’s in big or small ways, but we’re doing it for the one person that needs the hope of Christ, but ultimately we’re doing it for the One, which is Jesus Christ, that we are serving Him, because anything that we do for Him will not fade away. Everything that we do for Him will last forever. 

[00:29:35] And I just want to encourage you that if you’re in the midst of the season and you do not see that anything good will come from this, I know something good will come from this. If you surrender your suffering to Jesus and you have open hands to His plans and you ask Him, “What do You want me to do? How do You want me to serve You today,” He will give you those answers and He will lead you and guide you. 

[00:29:59] And I do believe that something beautiful is going to come from the loss of your baby in their memory and for Jesus Christ. And God can and will use you as a vessel for hope and for the Gospel. 

And so I close this chapter with Matthew 5, which is when Jesus told us that we are the light of the world and we should let our light shine before men, “So that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.”

[00:30:22] And friends, I am still running my race. You are still running your race. There is work to be done. Jesus has a mission for you and for me, and we just need to keep running, because ultimately one day we want to get to Heaven and for Jesus to say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” And I think that we just keep working and shining the light of Jesus until we meet Him and our baby face to face.

[00:30:46] Let me share now the Time With Jesus prompt and Healing Step for this chapter. The Time With Jesus prompt is: “The Lord rejoices in seeing the work begin. What is holding you back from getting started? Reflect on any fears, doubts, insecurities, or confusion you may have. What will help you confront these obstacles?”

[00:31:08] And then the Healing Step is to get started. Even if it’s a small act, the Lord will be delighted with your obedience. Send the text, make the call, share your story, write the post, volunteer, donate. Do a random act of kindness. Take the next step.” 

[00:31:23] And we actually have a list of Random Act of Kindness ideas and cards that you can personalize in memory of your baby at bridgetscradles.com/rak, which is RAK, which stands for Random Acts of Kindness, so bridgetscradles.com/rak. You can find our ebook there and we give you lots of ideas on ways to serve others in memory of your baby. So take a look at that. We’re linking that in the show notes. 

 [00:31:51] Let me pray for us.

[00:31:52] Jesus, I thank You so much that in the midst of our suffering, that You are able to bring beauty from ashes and You have good plans for us and for our grief, that You are not going to waste any of it, that as You do a work in our hearts, that You are also going to do work through us. 

And Lord, we want to plant seeds for Your Kingdom. We want You to water those seeds and grow them into a harvest. We thank You, Jesus, for our gift of salvation and for our babies’ salvation. We want to serve You out of gratitude for that salvation. We want to honor You because, Lord, You are our purpose in life. Our calling is to make disciples and to share the amazing hope of the Gospel that we have.

And so, Lord, I just pray over each mom who’s listening, who wants to use her grief for good, and she just doesn’t know where to start. Lord, I pray that You would help her unclench her hands and her plans. Give her a heart of surrender to accept what it is that You’re asking for, and knowing that You delight and rejoice just seeing the work begin in the small, hidden acts of service that she does each day, doesn’t matter how big or small they are. Lord, You just rejoice to see the work begin. 

And so Jesus, I pray for each mom, that You would guide them as their Shepherd, You would show them the one person that they are to serve, and that You would be the One in their life that they are serving. 

Lord Jesus, we thank You so much for all that You do. We want to continue to serve You and run our race well so that one day, when we see You and our babies face to face, we will hear those beautiful words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Jesus, we love You. We thank You. It’s in Your Name we pray. Amen. 

[00:33:31] Be sure to tune in for the next episode, which will cover the final chapter, Chapter 14, Our Future Forever: When You Long For Your Heavenly Home.

Ashley Opliger: [00:33:41] Thank you for joining me for today’s episode of the Cradled in Hope Podcast Book Club.

New episodes covering each chapter of the book will release on the 1st, 15th, and 22nd of each month through the end of the year—so be sure to subscribe and follow along.

If you don’t have your copy of Cradled in Hope, you can find it wherever books are sold. It’s a biblical guide for grieving moms after miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant loss—filled with vulnerable emotion, biblical wisdom, practical guidance, and hope-filled encouragement.

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.

Until next time, know that you are not alone. You are seen, loved, and Cradled in Hope.