Sunday, April 26, 2009

Comparing hurts and losses

I've noticed recently how many people try to compare losses. I've heard over and over again for the last eight months from friends and other women that their own loss was not as "bad" as mine because they were only in the first trimester and didn't have to go through labor and delivery. On the other hand, I've known people to say that because I was not full-term that it wasn't as bad as "so-and-so's loss". My best advice about comparing losses: Don't do that. Comparing hurts and losses is a waste of time. Just because I lost my son in my second trimester doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt as much or it's not as much of a loss for a friend who lost a baby at 8 weeks pregnant. Walk in someone else's shoes for a day and see if you still want to compare.


I'm so glad that God doesn't compare or prioritize our hurts against anyone else. Can you imagine if he was saying, "Well Katy, I have this women over here who delivered a few weeks later than you, so she's hurting more and needs me more than you do." No way! God knows our hearts and our hurts, and they are all just as important to him. Wouldn't it be great if we could all treat each other with the same kind of love and respect?

2 comments:

  1. I agree. I have found myself comparing my loss to earlier losses or thinking that I'm less worthy of comfort than people who lost their babies later in pregnancy...but it all hurts. And more than comparing, we should recognize what we have in common and be there for each other.

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  2. I like the analogy of a plane crash. It does not matter if the plane crashes during take off, in mid flight, or during landing... If someone dies, it is death plain and simple.

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