We were lucky to catch up with Krystalle Wheeler recently and have shared our conversation below.
Krystalle, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
In 2012 I journeyed a miscarriage in the Spring. It left me feeling frail. I spent the Summer months feeling really sad and could cry at a drop of a hat. That fall we got pregnant again and I was cautiously excited. I found out at my 20 week sonogram that my baby was sick. I was really mad at God, feeling like I had already been through something terrible. That night, during dinner I watched my husband and toddler dance. I couldn’t believe they had joy in the midst of sorrow. Then it was as if the music had stopped and I heard the lyrics “Engineered in my mother’s womb for God’s glory.” I immediately felt peace and ready to face whatever was going to come before me. I carried my babied for four more weeks before she passed. As I shared her diagnosis I discovered that there were a lot of women who had journeyed pregnancy loss but hadn’t healed from it. I confided in my pastor that I felt like God was calling me to minister to these women and with his support and donations from my stillborn daughter’s open house, I started Lullaby of Hope. I began gathering meaningful and helpful items to give as gifts to grieve with hope.
Krystalle, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Lullaby of Hope is fully ran by volunteers. All of these women have journeyed pregnancy loss and want to extend comfort to other women going through it. We bridge the gap for those who don’t know what to say or do when a loved one is journeying loss. These women are prayed for and our core team writes a personal note to extend encouragement and love during unimaginable heartache.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
In 2019, we had multiple gifts that were specific to infant loss and infertility journeys. We had planned to create another gift to include adoption loss. While in the midst of planning and creating, we realized that we were over our heads. Our volunteer team was maxed out and we had a decision to make. Ultimately, we recognized that pregnancy loss was that thread that tied us all together and we went back to our roots. We simplified the ministry and while stripping away these other avenues were painful, we also experienced growth. What we thought would possibly close our doors helped us to expand our reach by narrowing down our niche.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
As I mentioned before, I used the money I received from my daughters open house to start Lullaby of Hope. Now, we are an established non profit and are sustainable.
Image Credits
Fantasma Imagery