Dear Friends: March 2017 Edition
I hope wherever you are reading this you are beginning to see morsels of springtime popping through. For us here in the Midwest, the winter has been very mild, although we are aware, that is hardly the case for so many others. For those who abhor the bitter cold weather, the mild temperatures are a welcome relief, but the downside here has been an inordinately vicious flu season. My nursing background informs me that the frigid conditions of a hard freeze are necessary to mitigate the organisms that cause the misery of some of these seasonal illnesses, like the flu.
In that realization, I couldn’t help but consider the analogy about how nature has a way of bringing us through suffering to get us to another place revealing beauty we could not see in the suffering. For many who have endured the heartbreak of losing a baby, the pain and suffering may feel like a long cold winter in our heart. Our hope at Share is that through the care, love and support of others, you may begin to feel warmth and hope that is the restoration of healing, allowing you to feel and see beauty once again.
Our mission compels us to walk alongside parents in the darkest time of their life. The hope that healing can bring to each family to continue their journey while also remembering and cherishing their precious baby is the fuel that has driven and sustained the Share organization all of these forty years. Witnessing the transformation of healing take place is a powerful experience that continues to drive us forward. We are so grateful and continually reminded of how privileged we are to be a part of the journey of the parents we serve.
Walking along this path of healing requires many partners, we call them caregivers. They are those who join their hearts and talents with us to surround and embrace others in the pain of their grief and loss. Many of our Share caregivers have suffered loss themselves causing their hearts to be acutely tuned to the outcry of others. For those in this community united by the painful shared experience of loss, helping in the healing of others is a way of further healing ourselves and in doing so, also honoring the loss of our own babies. The picture created is one of a beautiful loving community we call Share.
As we continue in this very special year of remembering, we gratefully acknowledge and humbly thank all of those who have led this mission before us establishing the founding principles of bereavement care. We appreciate those professionals, caregivers and parents who have given so much of themselves in the care of others. We look forward to a future of continued support in hope and healing of those we don’t yet know. Together we remember and we honor the lives of way too many precious little ones gone way too soon. Thank you for joining with us.
Blessings,
Debbie Cochran, RN
Executive Director
