Blessed Journey- What's In A Name?

   I first mentioned my new venture back in December, in, "Hey Again, and REAL Clean Eating for 6 On A Budget." I really expressed more of my heart, though, in "The Last Year." If you haven't read it, please do. It's so much my heart on this journey. And finally, after much studying, reading, re-reading, writing, re-writing, tears of both joy and anguish, phone calls, meetings, mentoring, and experiences(and still more I'm positive I have missed), I am a trained Stillbirthday Birth and Bereavement Doula. This makes my heart feel so super-happy.

   Long before I knew this thing existed, my heart was being molded for it. You see, I'm a rainbow. The term "rainbow baby" is becoming more and more understood as the topic of pregnancy and infant loss becomes less and less taboo. A rainbow baby is a subsequent child born after a miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant loss in a family. In weather, a rainbow often comes after the most intense storms, and are historically the symbol of hope, that a trial was borne and you survived. Symbolically, a rainbow baby is one that comes after the intense life journey of bereavement has begun. I have always had a very sensitive soul toward pregnancy, infant, and child loss. I have always been a nurturer, and I truly believe that comes from the spiritual connection I share with my brother, Gabriel, who was two days old when he died, 16 months before I was born.
   Over my years as an adult, I have watched multiple friends begin to walk this path of loss before my own, and I have felt especially grieved and broken, especially connected to them. I have always wanted to be a mother, but before I did that I was a teacher, so I could nurture little loves until I had my own. When I became a mother, I felt so blessed and in awe. This is my dream. This is what my soul was made for. As I've continued this journey, I have taken on various roles that I have enjoyed to various extents, but when I discovered Stillbirthday last year, it was like my soul cried out, "YES! THIS IS THE MISSION I WAS MEANT FOR!" Teaching is wonderful and something I still enjoy, motherhood is intense and wonderful and my heart's desire, and I now know that being an SBD doula is a powerful role God has intended for me to serve. I am so excited about it.

   Now about the name. During my training, the business side of things was also discussed, and it was often asked what name people had chosen for their doula role/business. I pondered things, hesitated, then one day asked my husband via Gmail messenger, "What about Blessed Journey? Because this journey will never end, but whether it's as a birth doula, a bereavement doula, a speaker, or just in life, I'm so blessed to be on the way. The journey." He liked it. I ran it by two of my oldest and most trusted lady friends. They loved it. I felt validated but still not totally sure when I went to bed that night. Then I had a dream. I don't remember the detail, but I remember "Blessed and Happy" kept reverberating in my head. Blessed and Happy. That's what Asher means. Asher is who put me on this path. Asher's precious, short, yet profoundly changing and meaningful life put me on this journey. A Blessed Journey. It stuck. That's the name. God knew. He put Blessed Journey in my head before I even knew why, then confirmed it in my heart with a dream. Blessed Journey Birth Services, born from the irreplaceable role of a little boy the size of my palm who never took a breath outside the womb. I'm blessed to be his mama. I'm blessed to be a doula. I'm blessed to be so expertly and uniquely trained to come along side ALL families as they give birth in any trimester, no matter the outcome. A Blessed Journey indeed.

Want to follow my Blessed Journey page on Facebook? The link is HERE. I'm just getting it up and running and my full website is still in editing, but would love for you to come on the journey with me.