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In this heartfelt episode, Ashley welcomes James Shove to share the story behind his powerful song, Jealous That Heaven’s Your Home. James’ wife, Emily, was previously on our podcast on Episode 61, but in this conversation, James offers a unique perspective as a grieving father navigating the loss of their son, Phoenix.

Together, Ashley and James discuss the excitement of expecting a baby, the heartbreak of miscarriage, and the often-overlooked grief experienced by fathers. James vulnerably shares his struggles with depression, anxiety, emotional expression, and how poetry, music, and prayer became a pathway for processing his grief. Through the writing of this song, he wrestled with questions about Heaven, longing for his son, and the hope found in Christ’s promises.

This episode is an honest conversation about pain, healing, fatherhood, and eternity. It reminds grieving parents that while loss leaves an ache that remains, we can hold onto the hope that our children are safe with Jesus and that Heaven is ultimately our Hhome too.

In this episode, we discussed:

• James and Emily’s journey of expecting their son Phoenix and the heartbreak of miscarriage
• The unique grief fathers experience and the pressure many dads feel to stay strong during loss
• Allowing yourself to feel grief while also supporting your spouse through suffering
• James’s personal struggles with depression, anxiety, and expressing difficult emotions
• Wrestling with the biblical question of whether babies are in Heaven and finding hope in Scripture
• The inspiration behind the song Jealous That Heaven’s Your Home
• How songwriting became one of the most healing experiences in James’s grief journey
• Why James hopes the song serves as a stepping stone toward healing for grieving families
• James’s experience attending Wave of Light and how remembrance events can help grieving parents process loss
• Holding both sorrow and hope at the same time as we wait for eternity with our children

If you have ever wrestled with questions about Heaven, struggled to express your grief, or felt the ache of missing your child while longing for eternity, this episode will resonate deeply. Through James’s story and song, listeners are reminded that grief and hope can coexist—and that because of Jesus, our separation from our children is temporary, our hope is secure, and Heaven truly is our Home.

Full transcript below.

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MEET OUR GUEST

James Shove lives in Wichita, Kansas, with his wife, Emily. After experiencing the heartbreaking loss of their son, Phoenix, James began processing his grief through poetry, prayer, and songwriting. Drawing from his own journey through loss, depression, anxiety, and faith, he wrote the song Jealous That Heaven’s Your Home as an expression of both sorrow and hope.

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

72 | Jealous That Heaven’s Your Home | James Shove

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: [00:01:02] Welcome back to another episode of Cradled in Hope Today, I’m honored to welcome James Shove to the podcast. Many of you may recognize his name because his wife, Emily, was previously on our podcast in Episode 61, where she shared her story. But in today’s conversation, James offers a unique perspective as a grieving father navigating the loss of their son, Phoenix.

[00:01:24] James and Emily experienced the heartbreaking loss of Phoenix through miscarriage. As James walked through his own grief, he found himself wrestling with questions about Heaven, longing for his son, and trying to make sense of loss while still trusting in God’s goodness. Through that journey, he began writing poetry and music, which eventually led to the creation of a beautiful song called Jealous That Heaven’s Your Home.

[00:01:46] When James and Emily first shared the song with me, I immediately connected with its message of longing, hope, and homesickness for Heaven. It’s a song that captures the ache we feel as grieving parents while also pointing us to the eternal hope we have in Christ. In today’s conversation, James shares Phoenix’s story, the unique challenges fathers face in grief, how songwriting became a pathway to healing, and the biblical hope that inspired this powerful song.

[00:02:13] My prayer is that his story encourages you and reminds you that even in our deepest sorrow, we have reason to hope. You will also get to hear the song in the middle of this podcast, so please stick around to not only hear the song, but also the story behind the song. Let’s welcome James to the podcast

Ashley Opliger: [00:02:32] Welcome, James, to the Cradled in Hope Podcast. 

James Shove: [00:02:34] Thank you for having me.

Ashley Opliger: [00:02:35] Well, it’s such an honor to have you here, and we’ve had your wife on before, Emily, and people can go back and listen to her episode. But you have written this beautiful song that Bridget’s Cradles is sharing with the world this month, and you’re going to be singing the song at Wave of Light.

[00:02:53] And I’ve asked you to come and share your story and your experience as a grieving dad and then writing this beautiful song for other grieving families. I mean, you wrote it for yourself, but now we’re sharing it with other grieving families, and so I just want to share your heart behind the song and your story. And so thank you so much for being willing to be here with me.

James Shove: [00:03:16] Yes, thank you. I appreciate you having me.

Ashley Opliger: [00:03:18] So would you mind introducing yourself for us?

James Shove: [00:03:20] Yes. I’m James Shove, and like you said earlier, I am Emily’s husband. I live in Wichita, Kansas. I’ve lived here about five years now, and I moved here for Emily.

Ashley Opliger: [00:03:33] Well, that’s a good reason to move to Wichita. We’re so glad you guys are here, and it’s been such a blessing to get to know both of you in person at our various support groups and events. 

There’s many people listening that have not heard your story, and so for those who are hearing it for the first time, can you tell us about Phoenix and what those days surrounding his loss were like for you as a father?

James Shove: [00:03:56] Yes, it probably would have started back when we first heard the news. It was around Christmastime, and we found out that Emily was pregnant. And for most of my life, I’ve wanted to be a dad. It just never happened until this time. 

[00:04:10] And there was that excitement of, “Oh, we got a Christmas miracle!” We got a moment that we got to have joy with family, we got to let them know.  We got a moment where we’re like, yeah, we were both ready. We both wanted this. And there was so much excitement about the time that started sinking in! 

It was around January time where Emily began bleeding, and we were both kind of believing, “Well, it’s a miscarriage,” but we didn’t want to believe it or accept it. And then she started having other symptoms of miscarriage, and there was some scary times of us not knowing if we needed to go to the ER. 

We go to the ER. She was in so much pain that I had to handle a lot of this process. And seeing her in that kind of situation, that pain, one, let me realize it was an experience that I would never experience myself.

[00:05:03] I was having my own version of it. But just to watch the person that I love go through so much pain emotionally and physically, not knowing what to do, it was difficult to watch, but also still be there and present, and be the person she needed in that moment when she felt the weakest and was hurting the worst that she’s ever felt in her life.

[00:05:25] Seeing her in that moment made me scared, but I had to just push through because I knew we both needed that moment for her safety, and possibly, if by chance it wasn’t a miscarriage, that she would have the care that she needed, and I could stay strong in that moment for her.

Ashley Opliger: [00:05:42] Yes. James, I’m so sorry for the loss of Phoenix, and you are such an amazing dad to be so strong for Emily. I know that many fathers feel pressure to stay strong and hide their emotion during grief.

[00:05:56] So what would you say to the dad that’s listening right now who feels numb, or they feel angry or distant or just kind of emotionally shut down? What would you say to them? Because I know that it’s very common for the dads to want to be the strong one, the provider, the one that’s there for their wife in this time. But at the same point, you’re also experiencing all of these emotions of fear, of sadness, of grief. So what would you say to the dad that feels those things?

James Shove: [00:06:26] I would say that as we go through grief, you’re going to experience different levels, different moments, different changes as healing, grief progresses.

[00:06:36] And allowing yourself to be able to feel every emotion that comes when it comes, and but also be able to learn how to release in a healthy way, which is very challenging to do definitely when, from my perspective, I can’t say all men experience this, but from my perspective, I was like, “I have to be strong. I have to.”

[00:06:58] I’m watching her go through emotional and physical pain on a level that I will never experience, and yet I had to still process my emotions so that way I could be stronger for her in those moments. Because otherwise, I’m breaking down internally and trying to keep it all together when I had my own emotions and fears and pains with it.

[00:07:23] But I also had to give myself space to do that and also be okay with struggling to express those pains, struggling to, in a way, feel or just process everything that was happening.

Ashley Opliger: [00:07:38] Yeah. And so something that you told me when I was asking you about how the song came to be is that it actually started with you journaling before you wrote the song.

[00:07:49] And so when you started journaling, though, you said that it felt too dark and private at first for you to write those emotions down. I’m curious to know why you thought it was difficult to put those emotions into words on the page, and then also what allowed you to finally have that breakthrough to start journaling.

James Shove: [00:08:09] A while ago, I had been encouraged by many people to journal my thoughts down and stuff because I actually dealt with really bad depression and anxiety. Being raised in church and everything, and yet I still struggled with this deep side of me that was a strong emotional side, but also in a way that I would describe as dark.

[00:08:31] There was thoughts that would race in my mind. There was emotions, feelings. And so I’d be encouraged, “Hey, just journal it down. It’s going to help you think out everything and process everything.” And a part of, I wouldn’t say my upbringing, but a part of my life back then, I didn’t feel comfortable putting all my thoughts down.

[00:08:50] I attempted several times to write and journal, and it was almost as if I was telling my deepest, darkest secrets on a paper to anybody to read. And there was this fear that people that I didn’t want to know that part of me would know that part of me and use it against me. 

[00:09:07] And so it came at a point of how do I express, how do I share all this? Because I couldn’t really talk to anybody about these deep parts of me too. And what I found was in my prayer life, actually, I started doing some kind of rhyming prayer, and it felt like it was kind of getting it across. And I was raised around music. My sisters and I sang a lot.

[00:09:32] And so through poetry, I started finding my prayer life changing, and I began to develop writing my emotional experiences, my feelings down on poetry form. And as I began to develop my ability in poetry and learning guitar, and piano in some cases too, I recognized that I can change these raw emotions and feelings and thoughts that I could not explain to anybody, I could not express on just a simple word, paper, writing it all out.

[00:10:04] I couldn’t simply just describe it. But somehow the combination between word, poetry, and music gave me an avenue to express and heal or to finalize the healing. And so when it came to this time, I’ve had a few songs over my life that I’ve written for different times in my life, different experiences.

[00:10:29] And usually it starts with me sitting down, playing an instrument, having a thought of what I’m thinking of writing about. It could be a small phrase, whatever the case may be. But I will begin, and it could be a course of a year, it could be a couple months. But once the moment comes, I just sit down and write.

[00:10:49] And I had first the journey with the song was, do babies end up in Heaven? And I actually wrote a couple of my mentors, a couple trusted people, and asked them, “Where is this in the Bible?” Because I constantly try to search the Bible. I was raised to believe what man said about the Bible, and they’re obviously led and grew up in certain ways that weren’t necessarily biblical.

[00:11:16] And so in my adulthood, I had to actually look to Scriptures, not criticize them, but look at them in context and for what they really were. And so it brought me to the question of: Do babies go to Heaven, or was that just something else that somebody told me to make me feel better? 

[00:11:32] And as I went through with my mentors, I began to see the evidence, to see the proof, and be able to realize, “Oh, I do have a hope. I do have a hope in my son, my child, being in Heaven. And then it made me think on, “Whoa, I want him to be here. I want him to be here right with me. I want to see him grow up. I want to see him run around. I want to see him enjoy life, and I’m jealous that he’s not here.” 

[00:12:12] And then it also in turn, as a believer and believing in Jesus, I’m like, “I’m jealous that he gets to be there, don’t have the pain, don’t have the hurt, don’t have the way of the world. And he gets to be with the One that loved us and died for us.” And that’s where the phrase came, Jealous That Heaven’s Your Home, because it had two deep meanings for me. 

[00:12:28] And I sat, which I don’t normally do, Emily could probably describe to anybody who asks her, for some reason, I have trouble actually crying. And there’s been times in my life I’ve cried a lot, but it’s just really tough for me. And as I wrote that phrase down and I put a simple few notes to it, sang it, “Jealous that Heaven’s your home,” I just basically cried, weeped for about 30 minutes and couldn’t write anything else. Ended up about the end of it, I started writing the rest of the song, and after an hour of weeping on and off and singing on and off, I had most of the song finished.

[00:13:08] And as I was writing, starting in that heart and feeling of, “I’m jealous that you’re there and you’re not with me,” then it turned into, “I’m jealous that you’re home,” and then it turned into, “You’re safe. You’re with Jesus. You’re probably up there making the angels smile, making people smile,” because I just imagine this beautiful, pure spirit of a child not having to experience the world, this bitterness, and being in a beautiful, perfect place and just enjoying every moment of it.

[00:13:40] And it allowed me to kind of be in that Heavenly moment of, if I could say something to my son, to Jesus right now, it would just be, “Thank You for what you’re doing. You’re doing amazing things in my life that I don’t even know all the stuff that is going on, the interventions that the Holy Spirit does in my life.” 

[00:13:58] There’s amazing things that I don’t deserve, but I deserve because of Who I believe in. And to be able to use that moment as a hopeful moment of, “Hey, I get to be connected in a way that I never thought I would.” And so it doesn’t make the loss better, but it gives a hope to look forward to. 

[00:14:19] It’s the same as if you’re going through life, you’re like, “What am I doing this for? What am I doing this for?” And it’s like, we have a hope that’s beyond this. 

And it is still hard for me to grasp, but through the song, it allowed me to find that release, the beauty as well, of this hope that my child is safe in the arms of the only One who could take care of him better than I could. And that gave me the hope and the relief through this song. This is probably one of the songs that I believe I actually found the most healing through the writing process.

Ashley Opliger: [00:14:56] Well, it is an incredibly beautiful song, James, and you and Emily sent it to me just as friends. You had no intention of releasing this song or having Bridget’s Cradles share it to all of the grieving parents that we know. But as soon as I heard it, I just resonated with it so much because of the biblical nature and the hope that is in the song.

[00:15:23] As you know from what I’ve written about in my book and what I share on our podcast and in our ministry, I’m homesick for Heaven. I have a whole section in my book about that, and that ache for our Heavenly home is something that I feel very strongly in my soul and I talk about a lot.

[00:15:41] And so when I heard your song, I felt that ache, the word jealous, that we are aching for this place that we were made for, and our babies are already there, and one day we’ll be with them forever. And all of that is possible because of one man named Jesus. 

And so there’s just such truth in the song, yet also that ache of there is this separation right now that we’re not with our babies, but we one day will be, and we know where they are. And they’re in this beautiful place that is far better than where we are, which is why we are jealous that they’re there with Jesus. There could be no better place to be. 

[00:16:20] And so I heard it and just immediately had tears, and I’ve shared it with other grieving moms in our ministry, and they’ve all had tears. And that’s when I reached out to you and Emily and said, “I really feel convicted that this should be shared to a wider audience of people who are going to resonate with the same feeling.”

[00:16:42] It’s so raw and emotional, yet so full of hope and truth, and that’s what I love about this song. So James, I’m going to have everyone listen to the song now. We’re going to pause and listen to the song in the episode, and then we’re going to come back, and I have a few more questions for you. 

So everyone, please enjoy Jealous That Heaven’s Your Home, written by James Shove in memory of their baby Phoenix in Heaven.

James Shove: [00:17:21] 

“I wish I could tell you I love you

To hear you say Dad “I know”

To hold you in my arms

And neither of us wanna go

Neither of us wanna go

I can see you dancing

On the streets of gold

Bringing smiles to the angels

I’m jealous that Heaven’s your home.

I’m jealous that Heaven’s your home.

I’m sure you’re talking with Jesus

Tell my friend I say hello

And thank Him for all that He’s doing

And I can’t wait to get home.

I can’t wait to get home.

I can see you dancing

On the streets of gold

Bringing smiles to the angels

I’m jealous that Heaven’s your home.

I’m jealous that Heaven’s your home.

I can see us walking with Jesus

Your feet are putting on a show

You’re bringing smiles to the angels

I’m thankful that we are all home.

I’m thankful that we are all home

I can see you dancing

On the streets of gold

Bringing smiles to the angels

I’m thankful that Heaven’s our home.

I’m thankful that Heaven’s our home.”

Ashley Opliger: [00:21:40] Wow, this is such a beautiful song, and I’m so grateful that you have shared it with Bridget’s Cradles and with so many grieving parents. Now that the song is being released publicly through Bridget’s Cradles, what do you hope grieving dads and moms and families, when they hear this song, what do you hope that they feel and know when they hear Jealous That Heaven’s Your Home?

James Shove: [00:22:01] Overall, I would love the outcome to be hope. It is going to be a very difficult place for many people to get to. And I do understand, because that grieving process comes with so much weight and emotion. That is the outcome that I would love to see for everyone. No matter where the song finds you, I would like that it to be just a stepping stone in the part of your form of healing.

[00:22:28] I don’t expect grand things of every single time you hear this, it’s going to get you closer and closer to that absolute hope and healing. But if it can just be a little part for you, like it was for me, like it brought a moment of healing for me. And everyone’s will look different. And if the beauty of music that I love so much is you may resonate with one word or one phrase, you may resonate with the whole entire song.

[00:23:03] The fact that this is from a man’s perspective, I did not expect women to connect to it as much, for some reason. I don’t know why. But I found the beauty in music is the depth and the heart and the soul of it, and definitely when God’s involved, amazing things can happen. So if I let Him use the words of my heart through this form, I want the sky to be the limit on what He can do in healing.

[00:23:30] As much as I want a certain outcome, I want everybody to not feel the weight, the pain, the grief anymore, that they can find healing, but the reality is it does hurt, and it is hard. And everybody’s process in that is different. And like I said before, I only look for some form of hope, just for the next person that hears it, they may find something in it that really can be a stepping stone in their walk of healing and hope.

Ashley Opliger: [00:24:00] Amen. Yeah, I would say for me, there’s so, so much about it that I love. I already shared with you just the homesickness message, the C.S. Lewis aspect of just this ache for our Heavenly home, that we’re not citizens of this earth, we’re citizens in Heaven. 

[00:24:17] I love the “I can see you dancing on the streets of gold” reference, very much a reference to the New Earth, and Revelation 20 through 22 that talks about the New Earth, and there will be streets of gold, and so I love that reference. But I think my favorite part is how through the beginning of the song you’re saying, “I’m jealous that Heaven’s your home,” but then at the very end it says, “I’m thankful that Heaven’s our home.”

[00:24:45] And so that takes us from this ache to this is where our babies live now, to one day there will be a reunion, that there’s going to be a Resurrection, that we will one day be on this New Earth all together with our babies in Heaven, with our loved ones in Christ, and ultimately with Jesus, which is Who we were made for, and Heaven is the place that we were made for, not this broken earth.

[00:25:12] And so I love that culmination at the end of the song, that there’s this hope of not just, yes, there’s hope that our babies are in Heaven in a good and perfect Paradise right now, but one day we’ll be there too, and that’s thanks to Jesus for our salvation and that hope of eternity. So I love that’s the ending of the song.

[00:25:33] And the shirts that we have for Wave of Light this year, we have that phrase, “Heaven’s Our Home,” on the shirt. It says this biblical declaration and reminder of that hope that this is not our home on earth, that we have a glorious future and eternity to look forward to. 

And so speaking of Wave of Light, which is coming up very soon on October 15th, since you’re local to us here in Wichita, I’ve asked you to sing this song at Wave of Light, which I know that’s not something that you’re used to doing, singing in front of crowds. And I’m so grateful that you’re willing to be vulnerable and share this song, because I know that it’s going to touch so many people.

[00:26:15] So will you just share what that’s going to mean to you, and also the event, Wave of Light, you’ve been there before, what that event means to you? For anyone who’s listening that hasn’t gone yet and wants to come, just an encouragement to them.

James Shove: [00:26:28] Yeah. For being able to sing, one, I feel very honored that I was not only given the opportunity for this whole process, but also the opportunity to just share it live to people is, it’s not a moment for me to show off who I am. It’s a moment for me to share what God did and to show that He can still be good through all this.

[00:26:54] And one of the challenges I faced early on was: How could a good God do this? And through this song process, the healing process, I’ve learned He’s still good, and this is another moment for me to just glorify Him.

[00:27:11] In spite of who I am in life, who I’ve been, who I’m striving to be, God’s still good. And He used a moment of pain for me to what I hope will be a moment of uplifting in a time that is very difficult, but also be a moment of hope and remembrance of what we all have, what we share, not only in grief, but also in Christ.

[00:27:41] Wave of Light, to be honest, I was pretty hesitant because it’s hard for me to face certain grief like that, and it was hard for me to be like, “Yeah, I want to go around and have this moment of sadness and remembrance and be around other people that are that way, too.” And it didn’t sound appealing to do. That’s being vulnerable on it.

Ashley Opliger: [00:28:03] No, and I appreciate that honesty. And Emily, your wife, said the same thing about-

James Shove: [00:28:08] Yeah.

Ashley Opliger: [00:28:08] … initially being hesitant to come to a support group, and she’s so glad she did. But those are very real feelings of being hesitant to be vulnerable and to show up to a space like that. And so I really appreciate that you said that, because a lot of people are feeling that.

James Shove: [00:28:23] Yeah. And as I was hesitant, I was like, “I have to support my wife. I have to be there because I believe this will be something healing for her.” And what I didn’t realize was how much of a help it was going to be for me. 

[00:28:39] And it looked different. That was one of the difficult things her and I struggled with, was our grief was at different pace. It was at different processes we healed. It was at different emotions that we both felt, even though they were similar. 

And so going to Wave of Light had a specific moment in time to remember and to acknowledge that no, we had a baby that we were accepting as our own, that we don’t have the opportunity of experiencing and raising.

[00:29:12] So there was a lot of grief on that day, but to be able to walk around and see the lights, to see the memorials, to see people’s different stories that were similar but different to ours, and some very similar, but we were intentionally able to do a memory. 

[00:29:27] Definitely the lantern release was one of the biggest things for both of us, because we, as a couple, were able to go down, have little messages written on it, and release it with every other one. And it was like our little light was being put out there with everyone else’s. And there was some beauty of a moment that it was just us, and that was a healing moment.

And I know we went last year, which had its own healing moment, where we were able to show up for other people. And we also had a sponsored light cluster for Baby Phoenix, and we were able to put down some of the stuff that our friends had given us when they first found out that she was expecting. 

And there was some beauty to be involved in a community that not only uplifted us and encouraged us in our grief, but also gave opportunity to so many other people in such a beautiful way that, without experiencing it, you would just think it’s just, “Oh, we’re getting together for music. We’re a little sad. We’re just doing some pretty lights.”

[00:30:31] No, it’s an actual event that allows you to express grief, to acknowledge it, to have a moment together. Not only do we bring a moment of worship and acknowledge God, but it’s a moment of: There is a beautiful thing that we can, in our grief, still find joy or be happy about the opportunity.

[00:30:57] And it’s hard to explain because of the process of grief can be shadowing and cloudy, but it brings a beautiful visual as well as some therapeutic actions that allow release of that grief in certain avenues that I found very healing for both our relationship and each of us individually as well.

Ashley Opliger: [00:31:20] Yeah. Amen. I love that. There’s this aspect of it’s a community event, and so you’re there with other people, and you feel seen, and you feel this connection with other people who have walked this journey. But yet, at the same time, there’s those moments where you can be just with your family or your spouse and have that moment, and then you can also have an individual moment with the Lord and feel His presence in it. And so there’s all these layers to the event.

[00:31:49] But the whole purpose of the event is to have this remembrance time, to remember our babies, to say their names when we do the water lantern release, to have their names on the signs for the light clusters, and to just share the hope that we have to see them again.

[00:32:04] And so we try to do that through the worship music that we play, and the speaking that I do on stage, and all the different aspects of the event is really trying to share that hope, but yet also sit in the sadness with each other. 

And so I am so excited and honored that you’re going to sing this song at Wave of Light, and I just know that the Lord is going to do so much through it because it is a biblically based song, and just holds so much pain and hope at the same time.

[00:32:34] And that’s really where we sit, you know, this side of Heaven, is we live in the ache, and that’s what this song feels like to me is that ache, yet we’re aching with hope. 

And so thank you so much for writing the song. Thank you so much for being willing to share it, and also for sharing your story here today so that everyone knows the story behind the song.

James Shove: [00:32:56] Thank you for having me, and the opportunities Bridget’s Cradles that you have given me. I appreciate it.

Ashley Opliger: [00:33:03] You are so welcome. Well, James, would you close us in prayer?

James Shove: [00:33:07] Yes. 

God, we come before You, and we thank You for all that You are. No matter where this moment finds those who are listening, God, please show up in a way that they can see You in this time, and know that You love them, that You are there with them, and that You grieve with them, that You love them where they’re at, and that You’re with the whole entire process of grief, step by step.

[00:33:34] We still don’t fully understand how to explain why things happen, why grief happens. But, God, I can stand at the side of certain things and say that I still believe You’re good. I still believe that You love. And I still believe that You are the Almighty God that cares for us individually. We thank You for watching out for and taking care of our kids in Heaven.

[00:33:56] Just be with us, each one of us, as we heal in our own separate ways, that Your Spirit will guide us in each step we need to take in remembrance and in the process of healing until we one day will be in Your presence and in the arms of the ones we love. In Jesus’ Name. Amen. 

Ashley Opliger: [00:34:15] Amen. Thank you so much. 

Ashley Opliger: [00:34:19] 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.