Alexandra shares about a young mother who lost her child

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” Matthew 5:4

This was the Scripture verse that came to my mind recently, while I was visiting the Maternity Ward at the Intercity Hospital in Tegucigalpa.  Upon entering one of the rooms that day, my eyes were drawn to “Michelle”, a young girl who was only 15 years old.  She was in the most distant bed away from the door as I entered.  Upon entering the room I was quickly drawn to her and I approached her rapidly.  Arriving at her bedside I asked her I if could help in some way.     Michelle, without pausing from her sobbing, explained to me that she had lost her baby during the birth.  “I am not able to understand!” Michelle said to me! “Why did it have to happen to me? This was my first baby and I carried it inside of me for more than 8 months.  I will never understand it!” she sobbed. The pregnancy and birth for Michelle had been very difficult.  With being only 15 years old, her young body wasn’t prepared to be a mother.

Reflecting upon Michelle and her story as she spoke, a huge number of questions raced through my mind as well.  Was Michelle married? Had she wished to have that baby or had she been raped or sexually abused in some way?  Sadly these are some of the realities for Honduran women.  Because of the fact that there is so much poverty here, the majority of the Honduran families are forced to share the same bedroom of their very small house where the man (i.e., father, stepfather or the live-in boyfriend) sleeps with the mother and the children in the same bed and this is one of the reasons that the national average is so high for sexual abuse of minors.

Michelle wasn’t able to stop crying and so I came close to her and gave her a wonderful strong hug of affection.  I whispered in her ear that God loved her and that He knew exactly what the purpose of her life was and that He was in control of everything that happens in our lives.  I also assured her that her baby was in heaven in the arms of Jesus and that if she followed in the steps of Jesus, she would one day see her baby again.

In Matthew 19:14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” My Christian sister from church Maria Elena and I put our hands on Michelle and we prayed for her and what had happened to her baby, committing her unborn child to the Lord in prayer.  We were reminded of the Scripture passage that says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”  Matthew 5:4