April 8, 2008
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Monday morning ~ Homesick
Monday morning. Somehow Monday morning will not be the same… for some time…maybe forever. After a long weekend of praying for a miracle and yet surrendering to God … Monday morning (March 17) is when our son, Peter, called to say their daughter, Grace Kathryn, had gone ahead to Heaven. Monday morning (March 24) is when we joined together with others to honor Grace’s life and laid her to rest in her little casket at Greenlawn Funeral Home North in Springfield, MO. Now it is again a Monday morning and I pause to think of all that has transpired in our lives. We are not the same because of our little baby, Grace. We are comforted that she is in Jesus’ arms though our arms ache to have held her and be able to watch her grow. We received this same sketch* on a card from Aunt Susie and it was also on the front of her funeral bulletin.Some of you have only heard over my blogging about our first, anticipated granddaughter. To those who learned via blogging and others who became aware already that weekend….words cannot fully express how much your kind, understanding comments and prayers have meant to me and us as a family. Thank you so much for taking a moment to acknowledge Grace Kathryn and our loss.
You may wonder, “What happened??” The Saturday before, Rachel’s water broke. Preterm Premature Rupture of Membranes - PPROM – is somewhat of a mystery as to what causes it. (It happens in only 2% of pregnancies.) The medical field merely has statistics from those who have suffered PPROM. There was a 15% chance Grace would make it to 34 weeks when she could be delivered with a fair chance of being adequately developed. The first 48 hours was a 50-50 chance and then 15 % chance during the first week. Babies must have amniotic fluid for their little lungs to develop. At almost 21 weeks (Grace’s age), the little alveoli were not developed…not even enough for steroids to be administered to speed up lung development. Somewhere between 39 hours and about 45 hours her little heart stopped beating. Our little treasure is in Heaven, safe in the arms of Jesus. Heaven is sweeter.
This morning I happened along a blog I wrote, with it reposted, called Being There ~ Listen. This is the core of my ministry, Walk Alongside Ministries, and this blog conveys the pain we felt with our other son, Andy, when his friend’s wife died in a car accident. The song mentioned in that blog Homesick by MercyMe is what I have watched/listened to on YouTube this morning. It captures my sentiments well. We will see you soon, Grace Kathryn. But now it is time, and our privilege, to keep walking alongside Peter and Rachel besides allowing others to walk alongside us. Thanks to those who have been/are there for all of us.
*In searching the internet, I amazingly found the same sketch of Jesus holding a baby in His arms at this site where you see another Baby Grace honored. Even the file title of the sketch is BabyGrace.
Tuesday update: Pencil art is by Jean Keaton. This sketch is “Christ Comforting Infant”.
Comments (5)
I am ever so sorry for your loss.
Thanks for sharing the story. We continue to pray for you all.
Identifying with you right now.
You all are in my prayers. Interestingly enough, a friend of mine has that same sketch as his facebook profile picture.
Oh I am praying fo ryou and your family – I haven’t had a chance to visit blogs lately and I sure wish I had known of this sad time. I am praying a peace that passes all understanding and that God brings comfort to the hurting. You are right, that Baby is with God yet that seems to pale when there is so much hurt. There really are no words to express comfort, but I am praying.
Heather