Eden Alaine Memorial Scholarship

The church bells rang out in the crisp fall air. The gentle breeze blew my sweater around me as we walked through the parking lot to five o’clock mass. In my Social Entrepreneurship class, we were asked to come up with a lifelong ministry through which to serve. I didn’t even know where to start. My mom encouraged me to find a cause close to my heart. To find something in my life that I cared deeply about, and start from there. I decided to offer it to God at mass. Lost in prayer, a memory suddenly flooded back to me. My family, standing around a small grave as the priest read the prayers for burial, heartbroken after another miscarriage. My sister and I in our plaid skirts, standing in the parking lot between the cemetery and the church, where a statue of the Holy Family stood. Then, walking back into school right after the funeral, continuing with schoolwork and classes as if nothing had happened. On the outside, it appeared I had just gotten pulled out for an appointment before returning to school, but inside, I was still shaken. I then pictured the gravesite as it stands today, a small, carved stone marker surrounded by grass, and wondered, as I had many times before, what it would have been like to be the eldest of six. What would our family be like if my little sister had an identical twin? What if I had a younger brother? Coming back to the present as Father closed out mass, I still felt the heartache of losing them. What if there was something I could do to help other families who were grieving as we once had? Recalling my own family’s grief, I decided that I needed to do something to offer comfort to other families like mine. With a vision in mind, I got straight to work. I began to use my class time to sew miniature memorial baby quilts as a reminder of the babies which families have lost, and Layers of Love was born. The mission of Layers of Love, Miscarriage Ministry, is to provide comfort to grieving parents, acknowledge the loss as a real baby, and supply something beautiful and tangible for the mother and father to keep in remembrance. Despite my doubts, my eighth grade service project has transformed into my lifelong ministry. I have been creating quilts for five years now, and I plan to continue for many more. Through my ministry, I have been able to bless families both locally and internationally. Throughout my journey, I have been blessed to see the work which I have put my heart and soul into, comforting grieving parents. I have learned that God may not call us to do big things or great things, but rather small things with great love. I pray that through every candle lit and every quilt sewn, God’s light may penetrate the grief and suffering of these families. Looking back, I realize now that all that my family has gone through is a gift, given so that I may use it to better understand and comfort those whom He places in my life. Layers of Love Miscarriage Ministry has brought me joy and healing, and I hope that through it, I may extend the same healing to the world.