Cradled in Hope

Welcome to the When Grief Comes Home podcast. We're glad you're here. This podcast supports parents who are grieving a spouse, partner, or child while helping their children who are living through the loss of a parent or sibling. With personal grief stories and professional guidance, we offer parents practical tips for supporting their child who is grieving while caring for their own grief. Hope doesn’t erase grief—it gives it somewhere to go. We sit down with Ashley Oplinger, founder and executive director of Bridget’s Cradles and host of Cradled in Hope, to trace how a handmade cradle in a Wichita hospital became a nationwide lifeline for more than 30,000 bereaved families each year. Ashley shares Bridget’s story with unflinching honesty, opening space for the raw questions parents carry after miscarriage and stillbirth: Where is God? Why does guilt cling to my body? How do I live with an empty nursery and a full heart?Together we explore a practical, faith‑rooted path through loss. Ashley explains how she moved from feeling forsaken to trusting God’s character, flipping the script so scripture shapes thoughts and feelings instead of letting pain define who God is. We talk about the ministry of presence, what to say (and what to avoid), and simple survival tools for the hard nights—protein when meals feel impossible, opening the blinds, and listening to the Psalms when reading is too heavy. Ashley also offers a clear, comforting vision of heaven and the new earth, where reunion is real and embodied, and why “grateful and grieving” can exist at the same time without cancelling each other out.Ashley also honors her father, SRG, who was killed by a drunk driver, and shares how drumming became therapy—turning anger into rhythm and engaging the brain much like EMDR. If you or someone you love is navigating pregnancy or infant loss, you’ll find gentle wisdom, practical guidance, and resources: support groups, free ebooks, and Ashley’s new book, Cradled in Hope. Listen, share with a friend who needs it, and help us reach more parents—subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: what helps you hold both joy and sorrow today?Order the book When Grief Comes Home https://a.co/d/ijaiP5LSend us Fan MailFor more information on Jessica’s House or for additional resources, please go to jessicashouse.org