12 | Cradled in Hope Book Club | Ch 11 | Ashley Opliger

In this episode, Ashley shares a deeply personal story of how grief resurfaced during her third pregnancy, years after the loss of her daughter Bridget. Centered on Chapter 11 of Cradled in Hope, “Holding Both: When You Experience Both Joy and Sorrow,” she reflects on how conflicting emotions—gratitude and grief, joy and sadness—can coexist and create confusion, guilt, and shame for grieving moms.

Through honest storytelling and gentle encouragement, Ashley invites listeners to reframe “either/or” thinking into “both/and” truth. With grace, she reminds moms that it’s possible to feel immense love for one child while still mourning another, and that sorrow and joy can live side-by-side in the sacred space of a grieving mother’s heart.

In this episode, Ashley shared:

• The emotional experience of finding out her third child was a boy, and the waves of unexpected grief that followed

• The phrase “holding both” and how her counselor introduced it as a healing framework for complex emotions

• How expectations versus reality can lead to disappointment—and how the enemy uses that gap to plant lies

• Real-life examples of “both/and” experiences in grief (e.g., being thankful and heartbroken, smiling while missing your baby)

• Why joy does not cancel out sorrow, and laughter is not a betrayal of your grief

• The temptation to tie grief up with a “rainbow baby” happy ending—and why only Jesus can be our redemption

• How rainbow babies can bring joy, but should never bear the burden of being our hope or healing

• Encouragement to trust God’s sovereignty even when your story doesn’t go the way you planned

Ashley reminds grieving moms that time alone does not heal all wounds—but Jesus does. And though we live in the tension now, one day in Heaven, we will no longer have to hold both—because we’ll be holding our babies again.

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[www.bridgetscradles.com/book]

EPISODE SHOW NOTES & FULL TRANSCRIPT:
[www.bridgetscradles.com/post/bookclub12]

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