A rainbow baby is a term used to describe a child born after miscarriage, stillbirth or infant loss.
These babies are stunning bits of promise after a storm, a collision of both sun and rain alike. Resounding with hope and promise, they appear after a monsoon of grief. As life breaks forth within, these little ones bring with them shimmering swaths of delight. They live up to their name, these beautiful, rainbow children of ours.
But they weren’t the first ones to light up the sky.
Because if the babies born after loss are rainbows, then the ones we lost must be lightning.
They touched down for a brief moment — too brief. And yet, their presence turned night into light, a flash of extraordinary brilliance.
Their little lives may have been surrounded by storm: by midnight trips to the ER, ultrasounds without heartbeats, and the pain of early goodbyes. But they were more than that. They were beloved bits of beauty.
When the storm rages and the electricity surges, plunging you into darkness; when the wind shakes the house and the walls rattle with rain – you remember the lightning. In the midst of the deluge, you seek it out. The sight of that sizzling, streak of light, that breathtaking blaze of power, makes the storm worth it.
Touched by lightning, you are indelibly marked forever.
**Post originally appeared on the MommyMannegren Facebook page. Follow along for more stories like this.**