After a harrowing journey through cancer, the unbearable pain of losing a child, I found strength not in my own resilience alone but in the abiding presence of Jesus

‘Over time, I’ve learned that healing isn’t forgetting, it’s finding strength again. It’s rediscovering joy, slowly. It’s holding both sorrow and gratitude in the same hands. And it’s realising that God never wastes the hard things,’ says Mary Bourne.

Some storms you see coming. Others arrive without warning. There’s no preparing for the moment you’re told there’s no heartbeat. Our daughter was nearly full term. I had felt every kick, dreamed about her future, and was ready to hold her. But in a quiet room, with hushed voices and stillness I’ll never forget, we were told she was gone.