by Deaconess Rachel Geraci
This discussion guide is for use with the LFL booklet, “The Story of Baby Shalom” by Marie MacPherson.
- Was what the midwife said helpful? Why or why not? How did her words not serve to acknowledge that a fully human life was growing in Marie’s womb?
- What does Marie mean when she says, “Perhaps I might even be blessed more through suffering a loss?” How is a Christian’s definition of “success” very different than that of the world?
- Have you ever dealt with grief in this way? Have you ever searched for ways to “just feel normal again?”
- King David had a similar feeling of peace once he knew his child had died. He commended his child into the care of God and was at peace. Read 2 Samuel 12:15-23. How can we too receive comfort knowing that our God is in control even in the worst situations?
- How significant is it to recognize that we have a God who also experienced the loss of His Son? Our God knows human suffering and suffers right alongside of us.
- Marie’s baby was not baptized. How can she trust that her baby is in heaven if he or she died without being baptized?
- What well-meaning questions or comments might someone ask or say to someone who has miscarried that really are not that helpful? What better ways can we love and serve our grieving neighbor through our words and actions?
- In what ways did the Divine Service provide hope and strength to Marie in her grief? How can it help to strengthen you in your daily life?
- Read Psalm 130. What power do we find in these words! God does not want us to come to Him just when we “have our lives together.” Instead He wants us to come in our desperation, laying our burdens at the foot of the cross.
- What significance did Marie’s living children find in the baby’s name, “Shalom?” How can this story remind us of the beauty of the faith of a child?