Joy-Anna Duggar Suffers Miscarriage: 'We Have Cried Countless Tears'
There is no pain quite like that of a woman who cannot conceive or who has lost a child. The biblical account of Jacob captures this well when it portrays the plight of his second wife, Rachel.
At one point in the story, she turns to her husband and cries, “Give me children, or I shall die!” And the angrily perplexed patriarch shoots back, “Am I in the place of God?”
It’s an incredibly painful moment, one that Joy-Anna Duggar Forsyth of TLC’s “Counting On” can likely understand. She was expecting her second child with husband Austin Forsyth, according to CNN.
Sadly, during a routine doctor’s appointment, they received the worst news that any expectant couple could hear: Their unborn baby had died.
They recounted on Instagram how the doctor had said, “So this is your baby’s heart (pointing to the ultrasound screen). I don’t hear a heartbeat or see any movement.”
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That’s absolutely devastating news. Worse yet, it came during the kind of appointment that usually brings abundant joy.
See, the Forsyth’s were at their 20-week ultrasound. It was the date that the technician would tell them the sex of their baby.
Joy-Anna would’ve given birth to a little girl.
“Although we don’t understand why, God has given us unexplainable peace and comfort during this very difficult time. Yes, it still hurts and we have cried countless tears, but we know that we can trust the Lord,” the couple wrote.
“In the words of King David after the loss of his baby, ‘I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me’ (2 Sam 12:23). We don’t grieve as those who have no hope because we trust that we will see this little one again.”
They had already selected a name for their unborn child; they had planned to call her Annabell Elise.
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Some couples choose names simply due to the way that they sound. But Joy-Anna and Austin had used forethought in selecting their little girl’s name.
“Annabell means ‘God has favored me’, and Elise means ‘God satisfies’. What a precious thing to know that when our daughter opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the face of Jesus,” they wrote.
The pair closed out their post with a petition for prayer, asking that others would remember their physical and emotional healing. Then they shared the words of the old Fanny Crosby hymn “All the Way My Savior Leads Me.”
It said, “All the way my Savior leads me; What have I to ask beside? Can I doubt His tender mercy, Who through life has been my Guide?
“Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort, Here by faith in Him to dwell! For I know, whate’er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well.”
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