66 | From Grief to Graphic Design: Honoring Her Babies through Service and Storytelling | Maria Childs

In this very special episode, Ashley welcomes her longtime friend and behind-the-scenes podcast team member, Maria Childs, to the microphone. Maria has faithfully served Cradled in Hope since its launch in 2021, designing the beautiful graphics and quote carousels that listeners see each week. But in this sacred conversation, Maria steps out from behind the screen to share her deeply personal story of grief, faith, and healing.

Maria opens her heart about the stillbirth of her daughter, Taylor Ann, at 39 weeks, and the early miscarriage she experienced just six months later. She shares how her grief led her to Bridget’s Cradles through a sticker giveaway (yes—really!), and how God used a Facebook post to begin a redemptive story of connection, service, and purpose.

Together, Ashley and Maria reflect on the power of community, the healing that comes through telling your story, and how serving grieving moms has helped Maria honor her babies in Heaven while encouraging others through their pain. This episode is a beautiful testimony of how God brings purpose from heartbreak and knits friendships together through shared sorrow and eternal hope.

In this episode, we discussed:

• The traumatic experience of arriving at the hospital expecting to meet her baby—only to hear the words no parent should ever hear
• The shock and confusion of receiving no medical explanation for Taylor’s passing, and the miscarriage that followed six months later
• How God led Maria to Cradled in Hope through a social media giveaway, and how she messaged Ashley after Episode 1, saying, “I want to come to the little blue barn.”
• The journey of moving from silent sorrow to openly sharing her story—and how each Bridget's Cradles event and connection helped her find the courage to speak her daughter’s name
• Maria’s work as a graphic designer, and how using her gifts for the podcast became a healing outlet and purposeful way to honor her babies
• The Facebook group ministry and how Maria lovingly welcomes grieving moms through personal messages and prayerful connection
• Why answering the question, “How many children do you have?” is hard—and how Maria learned to confidently include her babies in Heaven
• Her bold step of faith in speaking at Manhattan, Kansas’ Pregnancy & Infant Loss event, and how Bridget’s Cradles resources helped other families that day
• The importance of walking with moms in fresh grief while also pointing them toward the hope of healing and the promise of Heaven
• Maria’s favorite chapter from Ashley's book, Cradled in Hope, and how she rereads it when grief resurfaces
• How Cradled in Hope and the podcast offer gospel truth in a variety of voices and stories—all pointing to the same eternal hope
• Maria’s favorite verse, Matthew 6:34, and how God has gently led her to take each day as it comes

Whether you’re in the crashing waves of fresh grief or standing on the shore years later, this episode reminds us that community, compassion, and Christ-centered truth are essential to healing. Maria’s story is a beautiful testimony of pain transformed into purpose—and of a mom who continues to serve, create, and share in memory of the babies she will one day hold again.

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EPISODE SHOW NOTES & FULL TRANSCRIPT:
[www.bridgetscradles.com/post/episode66]

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