Who We Are

“First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in a baby carriage.”

We've all heard it from childhood. The expectation of most marriages is family growth through joyful pregnancy and birth. But what happens when those dreams don't unfold as we imagined? Often we are left feeling as though we’re in a headlong free-fall away from the protective hand of God.

If you need to be wrapped in the comforting arms of understanding, welcome here, friend. You are not alone in this journey!

Infertility can be a crushing dose of reality, a monthly and recurrent death of precious plans, a grief with neither public recognition nor closure. For some, that double pink line pops up, only to end in a heart-rending and gut-wrenching gush of red. Still others receive “the call” that they have been selected as parents by way of adoption, only to be completely devastated to learn the birth parents have changed their minds or the country they were set to travel to has closed its borders for adoption.

Why 'Held'?
Held is a blogging outreach of Hannah's Prayer Ministries* and is here to offer support and encouragement to families seeking peace through infertility, pregnancy/infant death or adoption loss, and to provide a resource for our extended families, friends, church communities and larger support networks. If you are a married Christian woman dealing with the heartache of any of these fertility challenges, we also invite you to join us on the Hannah's Prayer Community Forums.

A husband or wife who loses a spouse is called a widow(er). A child who loses a parent is called an orphan. What name is there for a parent who has had the child of their dreams ripped from their heart?

One in six couples find themselves unable to become pregnant after a year of striving for parenthood. One in three confirmed pregnancies end in miscarriage. For every 200 babies born, at least one will be born still. Adoption, while a beautiful option for family growth, is not a quick or easy fix for childlessness, but rather a unique calling that can come with its own sets of disappointments and challenges, as well as obvious joys.

An Outstretched Hand

Realizing that God's unique plan for each family will unfold on a different time-line and in a unique way, Held strives to share stories from many different seasons. Contributing authors may address basic questions such as the definition of “infertility,” share humorous events from the fertility clinic, talk frankly about the emotional strain on marriage, tackle spiritual burdens of unfulfilled dreams, write devotional reflections about parenting a heaven-born child, or offer insight to family and friends who wish to come alongside us in these journeys. Some of our authors are parents of living miracles through adoption and/or birth, others are finding the blessing of contentment as a family of two, and yet more are still walking the journey and waiting for answers right along with you.

We welcome your thoughts, questions and insights and will work to provide content that will uplift, encourage and sometimes challenge you as we strive together to allow God to carry us through this journey. We always appreciate public comments, or you may email Held editors directly. If God has put a message on your heart that you would like to share with Held readers, please visit our submission guidelines to Share Your Heart with us.

"I have held many things in my hands, and have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess." ~Martin Luther

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* Hannah's Prayer is a California-based, non-profit 501©(3) organization, established Jan 1, 1995. All staff members are unpaid volunteers who are proclaiming Christians (from a range of denominational backgrounds) and have personal experience with the heartache of fertility challenges. We are committed to not charging membership or subscription fees for our services. Our only funding is through voluntary, tax-deductible (for those paying U.S. taxes) contributions.

Hannah's Prayer Ministries
PO Box 92737
Long Beach, CA 90809
Phone: 562-335-4130

Statement of Faith