Ripples Away for Precious Children Gone Too Soon

As many of you know, we were going to do the Walk To Remember event, but we have changed our mind. Not because the charity doesn't and didn't help us, but purely because we want to offer a TRUE HOPE to people that experience the painful loss of their babies. Walk to Remember will not allow us to donate "Safe in the Arms of God," by John MacArthur because God is in the title. So as a result, we plan to make our own boxes, hopefully with the help of our church, and distribute them ourselves to hospitals, doctors and families. We want to provide a REAL hope to the hurting families and not just things (though they are nice and encouraging) 

We hope to do a Ripples Away event (Sept 21 or 28) where we can Honor Jesus and share how our lives have changed.  My sister recommended throwing pebbles into a lake and share how our lives have been affected by Madilyne, Jordan, Elisha or any other children that have been rescued to Heaven, so we will have a Ripples Away event at some point for any that would be interested in taking part.  At that time, we would LOVE to see donations of this very special book to share the HOPE of JESUS with other hurting families.

If any of you want to do something in Honor of Madilyne, here is the blog post that I wrote. http://fromamommysheart.blogspot.com/2013/07/ripples-away-for-myers-babies.html


Book from MacArthur's Site - $16
From Amazon - $11.48

I hope? Who me?

From mollypiper.com

This weekend our family went to our church’s Spring Retreat. The theme of the weekend was “I Hope.” We looked at lots of Scripture passages about hope, and talked about how we can apply hope into our daily lives.
But for me, hope is a really scary concept–really scary.
I remember feeling, in my darkest days of depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), that hope is what God tells you to do so he can distract you, then sucker punch you in the gut with reality.
At that time, hope for anything good from God felt impossible. It felt like we only got calamity. And I know I “should’ve” stepped back a bit from our circumstances, taken a broader view, looked at the big picture and then I could’ve seen how good we had it–one healthy child, a home to live in, a car that got us where we needed to go, a job that paid for all of what we needed and much of what we wanted. And that did help sometimes. But I still had a deep, gaping, bloody wound.
I was stuck. So deeply stuck in the hopelessness of Felicity’s death. So confused. So wounded. I don’t think saying, “People in Cambodia (or North Korea, or Congo) have it really bad, Molly. Just look around and get over yourself,” would’ve have been healing for me. It might have taken the “bad thoughts” away quicker, but would it have healed the wound I was feeling or mended my broken view of God?
I think taking a broader view of God’s world can be incredibly helpful for getting us outside of ourselves, don’t get me wrong. But it’s insufficient by itself for healing when you’re up against some deeply painful personal issues.
I was dealing with questions like:
Is God trustworthy?
Does he listen when I pray?
Does he care about me and my anguish?
Has he forgotten me?
Have I wearied him with too many requests?
Am I being punished or “taught a lesson”?
Is my loss “small” in the big picture of things? Does it matter to God that I’m still so sad?
And of course a really simple division that one can make about hope is that there’s hoping in our circumstances and hoping in God and who he is. As you can see from my list of questions above, my circumstances and who God is were pretty enmeshed. And I think that’s probably the case for most of us. Our hearts aren’t so easily compartmentalized, are they?
Anyway, there was (and is) lots of undoing that needed to happen for me to begin healing. That’s another post. But I realized this weekend that I am still so afraid to hope for the arrival of the twins. Kind of like, if I want it too much, God’s going to teach me a lesson, smack me on the hand, flex his muscles, and show me who’s boss.
I want to believe that God flexed his muscles already and showed me who’s boss by giving these babies to begin with. I don’t want to see a taking again. But I suppose on some level, we all have to be prepared for that.
So how do I hope that these babies are going to come? How can I hope in God (who gives and takes away) and not get that tangled into my circumstances? is that even possible for those to be completely separate?
I’m afraid I can’t wrap this thought up with a pretty bow and present it to you all figured out. These are my wonderings, my laments, my questions that I wade through as week #20 with two babies in my belly pushes on. I desire to hope, but I’m still slogging through what that means. It’s messy, this slogging. Who’s with me?

I need you NOW

Everything feels so raw.  Everything feels open and exposed.  I want to heal, I need to heal.  I want to hope, I need to hope.

I am pouring so much into being with God, but have you ever done that and just feel like you are coming up empty and He is just quiet?

I am still choosing to trust, I need to.  All the promises that I have read, make me want to, but I am still afraid of what might come next.

This song I heard for the first time tonight.  I needed to hear this song.  It encourages me and gives me strength.  It is another reminder that I am not alone even though I feel so completely, utterly alone in my grief and struggle to survive.  It isn't because people don't care.  It is purely because this is personal to me.

Triumphant in suffering by Merle Ruth

In reading this book I found a lot that encouraged me in it, but I am only going to share a few.

Chastening
by Grace E. Troy
I know not why His hand is laid,
In chastening on my life,
Nor why it is my little world
Is filled so full of strife.
I know not why, when faith looks up
And seeks for rest from pain,
That o’er my sky fresh clouds arise
And drench my path with rain.
I know not why my prayer so long
By Him has been denied:
Nor why, while others’ ships sail on,
Mine should in port abide.
But I do know that God is LOVE,
That He my burden shares,
And though I may not understand,
I know for me He cares.
I know the heights for which I long
Are often reached through pain,
I know the sheaves must needs be threshed
To yield the golden grain.
I know that, though He may remove
The friends on whom I lean,
‘Tis that I thus may learn to love
And trust the One unseen.
And, when at last I see His face
And know as I am known,
I will not care how rough the road
That led me to my home.
-Grace E. Troy, Osterhus Publishing House

I walked a mile with pleasure

I walked a mile with Pleasure;
She chatted all the way;
But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.

I walked a mile with Sorrow,
And ne’er a word said she;
But, oh! The things I learned from her,
When sorrow walked with me.

-Robert Browning Hamilton

If it were not for the briars,
If the days were never dim,
If we met no disappointments,
Could we see our need of Him?

What God hath promised
By Annie Flint
God hath not promised skies always blue,
Flower strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

Refrain

But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.

God hath not promised we shall not know
Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;
He hath not told us we shall not bear
Many a burden, many a care.

Refrain

God hath not promised smooth roads and wide,
Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;
Never a mountain rocky and steep,
Never a river turbid and deep.

Refrain



Life's Lessons
Author: John Henry Newman

I learn, as the years roll onward
And leave the past behind,
That much I had counted sorrow
But proves that God is kind;
That many a flower I had longed for
Had hidden a thorn of pain,
And many a rugged bypath
Led to fields of ripened grain.

The clouds that cover the sunshine
They can not banish the sun;
And the earth shines out the brighter
When the weary rain is done.
We must stand in the deepest shadow
To see the clearest light;
And often through wrong's own darkness
Comes the very strength of light.

The sweetest rest is at even,
After a wearisome day,
When the heavy burden of labor
Has borne from our hearts away;
And those who have never known sorrow
Can not know the infinite peace
That falls on the troubled spirit
When it sees at last release.

We must live through the dreary winter
If we would value the spring;
And the woods must be cold and silent
Before the robins sing.
The flowers must be buried in darkness
Before they can bud and bloom,
And the sweetest, warmest sunshine
Comes after the storm and gloom.

Our Rainbow baby

I was not sure that this day would come, but it has....we are expecting our Rainbow.  We know that it may not come, but still we will trust.  Madilyne was to have been our rainbow to Jordan, but our rainbow never made it.  That doesn't mean that God is not still a God worth trusting.  He is.

If life were always easy, we would NEVER need or want Him.  I am not suggesting that we need to only want Him because we are having hard times, but what better way to get us humble and back on our knees than not getting what we want?  To suppose that we knew the best thing for our own life is thinking far too highly of ourselves then we ever should think.

I am thankful that I do not understand God fully.  I like the mystery of trying to understand Him.  It would be so much harder to serve someone that I could understand fully.  What a fun day when we stand before Him able to worship Him perfectly and to gain an understanding of the things that we just couldn't before.

Our rainbow baby is due approx Aug 17, but will more than likely come the end of July if the Lord wills it to be so.

Please pray for and with us.

Lena's First Steps

As we have walked through the death of Madilyne, we have had to put aside all those first moments that parents look forward to with their children.  After coming home from the hospital, I had time to look through the abundance of pictures we took of are precious baby girl.  This shirt caught my attention for a couple of reasons.  Turner LOVES giraffes and on it, it says First Steps.  As I thought about that shirt, I was thrilled that someone picked this shirt out for her to wear.  Why, you ask?  Well, let me tell you.  The truth of the matter is this shirt was worn at the exact right time.  No, she NEVER took a step on earth, but this picture of her wearing her first steps shirt is completely accurate.  She took her first steps right into the arms of Jesus.

We were able to capture a picture of a FIRST in our daughter's very short life on earth and into her forever life in heaven.

Luke 18:16
But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.

How do you move forward?

Moving forward is not the easiest thing to do when you are not sure what your next step should really be. 
What does moving forward really mean right now?  I have a hard time even knowing what day it is that I am living in, so figuring out what is the next best and right thing to do to move forward is hard to figure out.
I know that God has been so gracious to keep us grounded, filled with peace and still very hopeful for the future, even with what has happened with all our precious little people that have come and gone from our life.  
  

Move Forward is defined as - to advance with something; to make progress with something.

Since something isn't specific, I can say that we are taking strides to move forward.  I can also tell you that there are a lot of nights and even days where the events of AUGUST 31 play over and over again in my mind, so sometimes feeling like I am moving backwards does happen too.  Do I stay there and lose all sight of hope?  No.  Have I had moments where I sometimes have a hard time getting to the sovereignty of God and need help from others?  You betcha.

The last 2 days have had some great moments in them.  Turner and I did some school time together yesterday and we had a great time.  We just sat together and read, then practiced our writing, did some sorting, comparing, counting, stringing and ended with truths from Scripture.  This week we are learning Psalm 67:1 - May God   be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to   shine upon us,  Selah

Today I was able to be part of a MOPS group.  I definitely had some struggles at different points during the meeting, but once again, God is so faithful to help me at each moment.  It was good to be around other moms, to be able to find some encouragement from those there as well as know that there were some there that knew where I was at.  I could tell that some of them have been praying and many extended such a friendly welcome to me.  I even had the opportunity to be cared for by another mom that has lost 2 children to miscarriage.  Where she said she didn't understand my specific loss, she knows that for her, it was about people caring that what she was walking through was real and just knowing they would allow her to cry and recognize that the children were real and important.  That has been the hugest blessing to me...having people willing to acknowledge our precious Madilyne and be okay that tears may come.

Everyday is a choice to take the next step forward.  I do not want to waste the chances that God will put in my path by choosing to hold still.  Our days are drawing to an end and there are people out there that do not know of JESUS.  I do not want to waste those precious opportunities, and have been praying that God will use all that I have walked through in the last year to be able to reach people that others might not be as easy to relate to due to experiences they are in or have faced.  

Psalm 67 

May God be gracious to us and bless us

    and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
2 that your way may be known on earth,
    your saving power among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
    let all the peoples praise you!

4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
    for you judge the peoples with equity
    and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
    let all the peoples praise you!

6 The earth has yielded its increase;
    God, our God, shall bless us.
7 God shall bless us;
    let all the ends of the earth fear him!

Deut 31:  7-8 - “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. ⁸ It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

More than Conquerors

Are we more than Conquerors?

 

Conquer is defined as:

(v. i.) To gain the victory; to overcome; to prevail.
(v. t.) To gain or obtain, overcoming obstacles in the way; to win; as, to conquer freedom; to conquer a peace.
(v. t.) To subdue or overcome by mental or moral power; to surmount; as, to conquer difficulties, temptation, etc.

Lena was born on 8/31 and we long to remember her and to find a meaning to her death and to make sure to give her a voice to the world.  I do not believe in coincidences by any means, so feel that in searching for a verse or group of verses that could make 8/31 minister to us, that God showed himself to us once again.

 

Let the verses minister to you in a real way right now.  You can see that God understands all suffering and pain.  He too gave up His son for US.  We are wretched and sinful and yet He still loves us.  He wants us to forever be with Him.  Our Lena is with Him right now.  He loves her and is caring for her.   He wants to care for each of you too.  All you have to do is accept His free gift and NOTHING can separate you from his love either. Thank you for providing relief and hope on a night that was feeling dreary and empty. 

 

Will we be able to get to a place we can function and use Lena's death to glorify Christ?  I sure do hope so.  With God we can prevail and overcome.

 

Will we be able to overcome the obstacles of our grief  and find peace?  If we keep our face looking up to Jesus, we sure will.

 

Will we be able to conquer difficulties and temptations?  We have Christ and he has conquered them once and for all.

 

Are we downhearted?  Absolutely, but this is not new to Christ and He does not expect us to be anywhere without Him being there with us and so we ask Him to be there with us as we walk through this hardship, disappointment, heartache and grief.  We can come out on the other side and find peace, hope, joy and so much more.  We can come out, because we believe in Him and He will never leave us or forsake us.  God is ALL that we need.  All of life seems so overboard these days after the loss of one so precious.  There is so little that we really need.  God is all that we need and so we long to focus on Him and what He is calling us to do right where we are.  May we be found faithful.

 

Hebrews 13:5

New International Version (NIV)

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”^[

 

Romans 8:31-39

New International Version (NIV)

More Than Conquerors

³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”^[a]

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[b] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Hope in Healing

By Lynette D.L. Myers

In our sadness,
We still have faith.

In our grief,
We still have love.

In our pain,
We still have peace.

In our heartache,
We still have healing.

In our remembering,
We still have joy.

In our hurt,
We still have hope.

In our sin,
We still have a Savior.

We have hope in our healing,
Because Christ heals us and give us hope.

1 John 1:9 (NIV)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Verses of Hope & Healing

The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:9-10 (NIV)

Day and night I cry, and tears are my only food…. My heart breaks when I remember the past….Why am I so sad? Why am I so troubled? I will put my hope in God, and once again I will praise him, my savior and my God…. My heart is breaking…. He has sent waves of sorrow over my soul…. May the Lord show his constant love during the day, so that I may have a song at night, a prayer to the God of my life…. Why am I so sad? Why am I so troubled? I will put my hope in God, and once again I will praise him, my savior and my God.  Psalm 42:3-11 (Good News Version)

When you pass through deep waters, I will be with you; your troubles will not overwhelm you. When you pass through fire, you will not be burned; the hard trials that come will not hurt you. For I am the Lord your God, the holy God of Israel, who saves you…. You are precious to me and…I love you and give you honor. Do not be afraid--I am with you!  Isaiah 43:2-5a (Good News Version)

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26 (NIV)

 

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.  Hebrews 10:23 (NIV)

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

Isaiah 40:29 (NIV)

When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way.  Psalm 142:3a (NIV)   

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.  Psalm 147:3 (NIV)

 

I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.  Jeremiah 31:13b (NIV)

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  I Peter 5:7 (NIV)

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God

of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble

with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow

over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.  II Corinthians 1:3-5 (NIV)

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.

"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV)

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest

on me.  II Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)

Home Hurts

By Lynette D.L. Myers
Sept 18, 2012

Oh how the very familiar and comfortable surroundings of home really hurt right now.  There are memories everywhere I look that point to the children that have been and gone from our lives in the last year.

I know that in time our home will be a place of solitude and comfort again, but right now, I just HURT.

I am thankful that the hurt is not a discontent or a lost hope.  The hurt I feel is just putting to rest the hopes of what we had planned and dreamed of. 

I am thankful that we are still able to find joy in our lives because we know the giver of hope.  I could not imagine having to walk this out without knowing the Savior that makes the sorrow full of purpose.  To walk this out without hope and truth makes we weak in the knees and makes me fall to my knees and pray for all those that have to walk such a trial not knowing Him.

Thank you Jesus for walking with us in this storm.  Thank you that you wanted to continue to perfect our faith and make us look more like you.  Thank you for holding our 2 precious babies and loving them perfectly because we could never have done that.  Thank you that we have hope in you and we know that we will get to see our precious babies again because you died for US.

Lullaby

Daddy please don`t look so sad,
Mommy please don`t cry.
I am in the arms of Jesus
and He sings me lullabies.
Please do not try to question God,
don`t think He is unkind.
Don`t think He sent me to you and that
He changed His mind.
You see, I am special
and I`m needed up above.
I`m the special child you gave Him,
the product of your love.
I`ll always be there with you.
So watch the sky at night.
Find the brightest star that`s gleaming.
That`s my halo`s brilliant light.
So Daddy please don`t look so sad.
Mommy please don`t cry.
I am in the arms of Jesus.
And He sings me lullabies.

Nine precious months with you

By Lynette D. L. Myers
September 5, 2012

The day I realized that I was pregnant, I began to plan and dream of you.  I was scared to tell people because I had just lost your sister Jordan and was trying to protect myself from the pain of people knowing and the tears that could come if I lost you too.  I wanted to shout from the roof tops that God’s promise to me that I would have another little baby was coming true.

God had shown me such a pretty picture in the clouds on the day that we had lost Jordan.  It was a picture of God giving us you.  I was positive that meant we had nothing to fear, God had it in control.  That didn’t mean that I didn’t take on fear more than I should.  It is such an easy thing to take back and think you have control over.

My pregnancy with you was never easy.  There was not a day that I did not suffer with some kind of pain.  This was completely new to me as Turner was the easiest pregnancy ever.   I had to continue to remind myself that even though there was great pain, the miracle that was growing inside of me was a blessing from the Lord.  I had to actively choose to see it as such, as the pain was often more than I wanted to bear.

I loved feeling your movements.  You never held still and I LOVED it.  You did like to put yourself in positions that made the movements hard to handle at times, but still, I would take the time to stop place my hand at the place I felt movement because I loved to feel you on the inside and out.

Turner and I would read to you a lot.  Turner liked to talk directly into my belly button as we had made up stories about how you could hear him best if he did that.  Turner loved knowing he was going to be a big brother and had ordered up a little sister that would have orange hair with a little bit of blue and blue eyes.  Turner loved to dream of things for you and what he would do when you came home.  He was excited to play with you and hold you.  He tried to tell you of all his favorite things and was certain you would love him too.  He helped pick out clothes and toys and anything for you.  You have a great brother in him.  We had been teaching him how he was to protect you because he was a boy.  He was going to be in charge of showing you the right things to do because he was the big brother.

Our nine months together had lots of times of rest.  I am not great at slowing down and maybe you knew that already and that is why the pain had to be there.  I was able to really just be a part of all your movements and help Turner share in those quiet and precious times together.  I missed out on lots of outings due to the pain, but looking back now, Turner was not hurt by my missing and daddy got to really develop an even better relationship with him, and I was able to enjoy that time with you.  I am so glad knowing now that I had that.  We had some great times to talk together.  You knew my voice and responded.

You didn’t like me to eat much but fruit and vegetables, so mommy stayed pretty healthy for most of the time.  It wasn’t until the very end that your doctor started to say you were measuring large.  I knew that anyway, you were in my belly and I FELT the weight. 

I so hoped to be able to deliver you naturally, but am thankful now that God put it on my heart to set up a c-section.  I could not have imagined having to go natural knowing what I know now.

As the 9 months was coming to an end, I was so excited to meet you.  I was so excited you were a girl.  I had to clean your closet out twice to do some thinning and you hadn’t even arrived yet.  You were loved by so many and we were thankful for all the clothing you were blessed with by people passing on their love-me-down items.

The day that we were to go to the hospital, I woke up early because the last week you just were not moving as much and always caused me concern.  I got out my Doppler so I could listen to your heart.  You never liked people to listen and would make it so hard to find, but I did find it and it was slower than typical.  Daddy decided we should go in a little early.

On our way to the hospital, Auntie Keli called and prayed with us and while she prayed you kicked me hard in the ribs.  I loved the reassurance and felt that all was fine.  We got there and they set us up and started to hook me up to get your vitals.  The nurse was working hard to find your heartbeat.  We were not worried because you never cooperated once in 9 months in this area.  The nurse told us that he heard you moving, so again no reason for concern.  When he told us he was going to get the doctor because he wasn’t good at using the machine, my heart raced a bit, but figured he said he heard you, no worries.  Daddy had to get something to eat so his blood sugar wouldn’t plummet and while he was gone is when I received the most horrific news a mother could ever expect to hear.  I just started screaming and wailing wanting you back, not believing that for 9 months you were fine and that just minutes ago you kicked me and now they are saying that just 2 hours before I am to hold you, you have no heartbeat.  What in the world?  How could this be true?  This is just a nightmare like so many others I had.

I told them to leave and immediately picked up the phone to call someone…I just started dialing numbers and asking whomever was on the other end to pray for a miracle…either to start your heart or help my heart be ready.  After I could not think of another number to call, I started beating on my stomach hoping that this could suffice for CPR for you, my little one, and that your heart would start.  Alas, it did not and we had to deliver one of the most beautiful and fat little precious angels you could ever imagine laying eyes on.  As we stared at you, we just waited for you to take your first breathe because it just looked like you wanted to…you didn’t look gone…your color was great….the doctors said they could find NO reason you were gone…..This was NOT the miracle that God wanted to perform that day.

We had time of weeping, prayer, laughter, numbness, celebration, and the emotions just kept going.  Our little doll baby was gone and our hopes for you right with it.

We did however experience several miracles that day.  My heart did find peace and my marriage found hope.  You, our little Lena, provided us many gifts in those few hours after your passing.  It is always so great to be able to know that God gives good gifts and when something like this happens, there is still something in it that is a good gift.  What makes it even better is when the evidence of what that gift is comes right on the tail of the tragedy.  We did not have to wait long to start walking out and seeing the goodness that God had in store for us.  While we are heartbroken that it took you, our daughter, not being here and our hopes for you laid to rest, we are thrilled to know that your death was not in vain. 

We are able to rejoice that you will never experience the pain here and you went straight to perfection where now you are even more beautiful and completely content sitting with our Jesus.

We are better able to identify the sacrifice that God gave with sending Jesus.  And while we didn’t willingly sacrifice our daughter, we can understand the pain associated with watching your special child die.

While we still have sadness, we choose to see the Hope that we have in Christ.  Without Him, our lives would feel empty, our daughter’s death would feel so pointless, but we know that God will use your life and our testimony in the middle of our grief to bring Him glory.

We thank Him for the time we did have with you, our precious baby doll Lena and hope to be found faithful to God as we always remember the changes that came because our little girl had to die.

We will love you and miss you - forever and always my baby you’ll be.

Love you to the moon and back,

Momma

 

Moment by Moment

By Torrey R. Myers

“The Bald Daddy”

September 4, 2012

 

There is no way you can know what your short life on this earth (in mama’s belly) has meant and will always mean.  You were and are a “Bright light” to us.  Though you were here for only a brief moment, your precious life was and will always be an exponentially important moment to us, your family.  In the time you were here, Jesus used your precious presence to destroy years of damage and detriment.  Although we knew you really weren’t here, we will always be thankful that you did not ever have to taste the ugliness of a sin-filled world because Jesus ushered you immediately into Glory.

 

We don’t know if you were able to see the beauty and absolute peace as we wrestled hard, agonizing over your passing.  If you were able to see, you truly witnessed what Jesus did in that moment through the miracle of you.  Your life will never go unhonored, without the deepest of meaning.

 

In one precious moment, the gift arose, a chance to show you love.  I was not going to lose this moment, I will bathe my(our) sweet Lena.

 

As I washed you, dried you, dressed you, I knew it only for one moment in time.  This I can do, Thank you Jesus.  This I will do, Hold me Jesus.  Thank you for this gift divine.

 

As we said goodbye to you, sweet Lena, know that it truly was the hardest moment we have ever had to face.  You’re in Heaven with Jesus our Lord and Savior.  Please know that we miss you and long to be united again with you.  Saying goodbye is hard and not something we thought we would ever have to do, but when we see you again in heaven, we will rejoice with you and our king together, forever. 

 

In reality, we did not say goodbye but, “We’ll see you soon! Sweet Lena,” which was truly a bittersweet moment.  And at the moment we see you again in glory, and Jesus’ face we’ll behold, He will turn the bittersweet into something captivatingly wholesome and pure.

 

Your momma loves you so; I love you so and Turner David loves you so.  You are a “bright light” to us and to so many around you.

 

One moment you were here, one moment you were there, Moment by moment, God’s grace was shown…

 

The moment we see you, all things will be perfected.

 

Your life, God’s purpose, none left unaffected.

 

We love you and miss you Madilyne Eleahnah Margaret, our sweet, sweet Lena.

 

 

 

 

 

Our sweet Lena (Maddie)

 

Proud Father of “Lena” our “Bright Light, Bright One”

 

We will honor you, your memory, our Lena “Bright one”

 

Lena “Bright One”

In Christ, Through Christ