HISTORY

Tiny Purpose exists in the hope of being able to help grieving mothers understand that their baby’s too-short life had a purpose – a purpose extending into eternity.  We desire to be a place where women are allowed to grieve, grow and heal; and a place where they have the opportunity to help other mothers, in turn fulfilling the Lord’s eternal purpose. 

It was June of 2003 and I was expecting our first child.  We were so excited to go to our 20-week ultrasound, seeing our child for the first time and hoping to find out what he or she may be!  But we walked out of the hospital that day stunned—our baby had some physical anomalies that would require surgery at birth and our care was being transferred to a group of high-risk doctors.  Over the next few weeks, we were told that our daughter had a condition known as Trisomy 18, a chromosomal abnormality that is incompatible with life.  In fact, our doctor told us repeatedly that this pregnancy should never have progressed to this point—we should have miscarried early on—there was no purpose in continuing this pregnancy.  Hope Elizabeth was stillborn on July 14, 2003, and I had no idea where that would lead. 

I began seeing a wonderful Christian counselor shortly after my loss who helped me to understand that everything I was feeling was a normal part of the grief process.  During one of our sessions, I said that it would be great if we could get a group of local women together to share our stories of loss with each other.   

The first Gathering to Remember was held in February of 2004 with a little over 20 women in attendance.  Speakers from Hearts of Hope shared their own stories of loss and how they had turned their pain into a basket ministry to help other hurting mothers.  What comfort and peace came from the afternoon of remembering and sharing!  Before leaving, several women expressed a desire to continue getting together.  I offered to host a monthly bible study for anyone who was interested.   

With the help of two other women, Tiny Purpose was born.  Our monthly support group began meeting in April 2004 with about 4 women attending regularly.  The Lord placed a desire in our hearts to minister to other women at the time of their loss.  With the generous donation from a local OB, we began a box ministry with the local hospitals.  As more people expressed an interest to help support our ministry, we were blessed by the opportunity to join The Christian Mission , a local non-denominational ministry providing free counseling, among other things.  By joining the Mission we were able to provide tax receipts for those people who wanted to support us. 

Today, our group has an average of 8-12 women in attendance each month.  We have a number of ongoing ministries you can find out about on our Outreach page.  Most recently, we’ve been approached by a couple of local OBs to help begin a Perinatal Program.  We are also being led to develop our own grief recovery seminar and a compassion seminar for medical professionals who work with these hurting families.   

After attending a national bereavement seminar, we heard that most support groups for pregnancy losses are dying around the country.  But somehow what Tiny Purpose is doing is working.  What’s the difference?  We are not professionals, we are hurting mothers who desire to connect with other hurting mothers.  We know that not everyone will find healing in a support group, but we know that there is healing in remembering that we are not alone.  We believe that every life, no matter how short, has a purpose and that the Lord desires to minister to you right where you’re at!  We hope that this website offers you both comfort and hope during this difficult time, and that here you can make the connections that will help you to heal – never forget, or move on, but find a way to remember the positive and embrace what is to come.