04/03/2026
I shared this earlier this morning with the Acts For Adalyn Mama group but wanted to share it here too since I know that many of you are also loss parents. Sunday is coming and with it comes the promise that we will spend eternity with the child that has gone before us.
Wishing you all a peace filled Easter. 💕
Carrying the Cross of Child Loss: A Good Friday Reflection
There are some crosses in life that feel heavier than others.
On Good Friday, we remember Jesus carrying His cross step by step, burdened by pain, grief, and unimaginable sorrow. The weight of the wood was heavy, but the weight He carried in His heart was even heavier. He knew what was coming. He knew the suffering ahead. And still, He carried the cross.
For parents who have lost a child, Good Friday often feels deeply personal.
Because we, too, carry a cross.
The loss of a child is not a burden anyone would ever choose. It is not something we prepare for. It is not something we ever fully set down. Instead, it becomes something we carry quietly, faithfully, and sometimes painfully for the rest of our lives.
When Jesus stumbled under the weight of His cross, He understood human suffering. He understood grief. He understood loss.
He also understood what it meant to lose a child.
God Himself watched His Son suffer.
God listened as Jesus cried out.
God witnessed the pain, the injustice, and the heartbreak of losing His beloved Son.
On Good Friday, we are reminded that God is not distant from our pain. He is not unaware of our grief. He has walked this road before us.
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet He did not sin.”
— Hebrews 4:15
When you carry the loss of your child, you are not carrying it alone.
Jesus walks beside you.
Just as Simon of Cyrene was called to help carry Jesus’ cross, God often sends people into our lives to help us carry our grief a friend, a family member, a counselor, a stranger who understands, or sometimes simply His presence in the quiet moments.
Some days the cross feels heavier than others.
Some days memories flood in unexpectedly a song, a photograph, a holiday, a birthday. Some days you wake up and the weight feels almost unbearable. Other days, you carry it more gently, wrapped in love and remembrance.
But the cross is always there.
And yet, Good Friday reminds us of something else.
The cross was not the end of the story.
Jesus carried His cross to Calvary, but Sunday was coming.
Resurrection was coming.
Hope was coming.
For grieving parents, the resurrection holds a promise that reaches deep into our sorrow. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, death is not the end. Because of His resurrection, we know that separation is temporary. Because of His love, we hold onto the promise that we will see our children again.
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain…”
— Revelation 21:4
Until that day, we carry our crosses.
We carry them with tears.
We carry them with memories.
We carry them with love.
And sometimes, we carry them with trembling faith.
But we carry them knowing that Jesus carried His first.
On this Good Friday, if your heart feels heavy, know this:
God sees you.
God understands your pain.
God knows what it means to lose a child.
And just as Jesus did not carry His cross alone, you do not carry yours alone either.
Because even in the deepest grief, God walks beside you.
And Sunday is still coming!!!!!!
