我打開回憶盒，拿出一個小小的銀色胸針，其大小與形狀和胎兒十週大時的腳掌一模一樣。我輕撫那十根小小的腳趾，想起我第一次懷孕就不幸流產，以及那些人說我其實很幸運，沒有懷孕很久才流產。我很傷心，因為我知道，寶寶的腳就跟他曾在我子宮裡跳動的心臟一樣真實。我要感謝上帝讓我不再憂鬱，並用我的故事去安慰那些因失去孩子而悲痛欲絕的人。在我流產二十多年後，我和丈夫將這個夭折的胎兒取名為凱，這個名字在某些語言中有「歡欣」的意思。雖然我想到夭折的孩子仍會心痛，但我要感謝上帝，因祂醫治我破碎的心，並用我的故事幫助別人。

撰寫詩篇107篇的詩人因上帝不變的特質而歡欣高歌：「你們要稱謝耶和華，因祂本為善，祂的慈愛永遠長存！」（1節）詩人鼓勵「耶和華的贖民」講述他們的故事來讚美上帝（2節），並「因耶和華的慈愛和祂向人所行的奇事，都稱讚祂」（8節）。上帝賜人盼望，祂應許「使心裡渴慕的人得以知足，使心裡飢餓的人得飽美物」（9節）。

誰都無法避免悲傷或苦難，即使是基督用十架寶血買贖的人也是如此。然而，我們能經歷上帝的憐憫，也知道上帝會用我們的故事，引導別人看見祂的救贖大愛。

I opened the memory box and pulled out a small, silver lapel pin, the exact size and shape of a ten-week unborn baby’s feet. Caressing the ten tiny toes, I remembered the loss of my first pregnancy and those who said I was “lucky” I wasn’t “that far along.” I grieved, knowing that my baby’s feet were as real as the heart that once beat inside my womb. I thanked God for freeing me from depression and using my story to comfort others who were grieving after losing a child. More than two decades after my miscarriage, my husband and I named the child we lost Kai, which in some languages means “rejoice.” Though I still ache from my loss, I thank God for healing my heart and using my story to help others.

The writer of Psalm 107 rejoiced in God’s established character and sang: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever” (v. 1). He urged “the redeemed of the Lord” to “tell their story” (v. 2), to “give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind” (v. 8). He offered hope with a promise that God alone “satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things” (v. 9).

No one can escape grief or affliction, even those who’ve been redeemed through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. We can, however, experience God’s mercy as He uses our stories to point others to His redeeming love.