Believe it or not, another month has flown by and it is once again time to team up with the Catholic Bloggers Collective and bring you some Catholic goodness-in blog post form.
Last month we all posted on Our Blessed Mother (see it here).
This month we decided to focus on a Pro-Life theme, in preparation for October, which is Pro-Life month.
I just love what I have to share with you today, a mother’s necklace, but before I get to that, I want to introduce you to the other Catholic Bloggers that have wonderful pro-life posts to share today:
Chris from Campfire and Cleats
Jennifer from Catholic Inspired
Monica from Equipping Catholic Families
Birgit from Designs by Birgit
Melody from Blossoming Joy
Nancy from Small Things with Love
Direct links to the Pro-life Posts can be found below.
As I said, as part of this pro-life theme, I am sharing a necklace that I wear ALL THE TIME.
My aunt Cheryl made it for me after the birth of my first child, and I just fell in love.
It is the perfect necklace for any Catholic mother, whether your children are here or in heaven.
Here is a picture of my necklace–and a picture of me and my son welcoming my new daughter into the world last November.
As you can see the necklace is pretty simple, and yet I love it!
Both of my children are represented by their birthstones and the Blessed Mother and Jesus are there to remind me of the high calling that it is to be a mother.
Now, I love my necklace, but I feel like the Mother’s Necklaces that my aunt Cheryl makes is even more powerful when a mother has suffered the loss of a child, especially when the loss occurred through miscarriage.
I know that many of you have suffered in this way.
Although I have been spared this pain (so far) I watched my mother lose several pregnancies, some of which were quite advanced.
In the end, she lost 6 pregnancies.
Along with the 5 of us that are here, we really believe that she is the mother of 11.
Therefore, her mother’s necklace (pictured above) has 11 birthstones.
We are in order, starting with my oldest sister on the bead below the Blessed Mother.
The miscarriages are represented with the month that they were lost.
Isn’t it beautiful?
In my eyes, it is a beautiful testimony to the fact that even though those babies died before birth, they are still members of our family, and my mother can still claim them as her children.
In keeping with this, my mother not only has this necklace, but she has named each of her losses and thinks of them often.
And finally, I don’t have a necklace to share here, but here is a picture of my sister Maria and her 3 wonderful children, on her birthday recently.
Maria, unfortunately, has been asked to suffer as my mom did. She and her family have been through 2 miscarriages.
Like my mother, she named each of her losses, and the family continues to pray for those babies.
What I love most is that her oldest, while praying one night looked at her parents and said, “Mom, when we get to heaven we are going to need a van for all of those kids!”
I love it!
If you would like a mother’s necklace of your own, my aunt would love to make one for you!
Her prices are very reasonable, and you are welcome to contact her directly. Her email address is chermn (at) hotmail (dot) com.
Just tell her Nancy sent you!
Thanks for being here, and don’t forget to check out all of the other pro-life posts!
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Mother's Necklace: A Pro-life Post – Catholic Sprouts
This is without a doubt all very a newcomer to me of which this article certainly opened a eyes. Thanks designed for sharing around your intelligence.
What a lovely reminder of motherhood! Thank you for sharing this inspirational post.
What a beautiful necklace, Nancy…what a wonderful way to keep these precious little souls with us. So important to honor them as part of the family…for the other kids too. Won’t it be wonderful when we meet them in heaven?
I love the picture of you with your son and baby daughter…beautiful!
Thanks so much for hosting the Catholic Blogger Collective! It’s wonderful to be a part of it!
What a lovely post, Nancy! And I also can;t thank you enough for putting together the pro life collective this month…..it really was a wonderful experience! I also got to “meet” several bloggers who I DID NOT know! The Catholic blogosphere is really getting bigger all the time.
The necklace and esp its symbolism is quite beautiful. I, too, lost to miscarriage…twins in 1999…then went on to have two healthy boys. I just love how your mom inc her preborn babies…. and your poor sister…how sad.
Thanks for sharing, Nancy!
xoxoxo
Nancy, That is a beautiful story and necklace! I love how your aunt uses the beads to represent the children! Very cool! Does she sell on Etsy?
How beautiful, Nancy! I’m going to spread the word… perhaps she should set up an Etsy shop! Thanks for sharing this and for setting up this wonderful collective.