On March 24th we were told that you could not survive this world. This pregnancy
did not come easy for us and finding out we would lose you was devastating.
We spent the first couple of weeks in shock, trying to process what we were
facing. There was never any doubt that we would keep you as long as we could.
It was very hard to imagine why God would allow this to happen. Although we
didn't understand, we knew your life had a purpose nonetheless.
We got this news so early on; it was hard for a lot of people to understand
why we would continue to wait for you so patiently. As time went on, we came
to accept this new reality we had been dealt. We cried for you often and grieved
the plans and hopes we had for you. It was never easy, but we came to have peace
we know only comes from God. It didn't take long for the number of people praying
for us to grow beyond what we could count. That came to give us strength we
could not find within ourselves. We continued to pray that God would heal you,
but knew if that was not His will that He would not give us more than we could
bear. We continued to search for meaning as we waited for you to come. It wasn't
long before we began to get many cards, emails and phone calls about you. Many
people commended us for our strength in choosing life for you, but we always
wanted them to know it was God who gives us our strength. We soon realized just
how many people your little life had already touched, and you weren't even here
yet to meet them. We'd been warned by other parents in our situation, we would
lose a lot of friends through this crisis, but God continued to show us otherwise.
We have not lost a single friend but have continued to strengthen friendships
and gain new ones as well. As our friends continued to worry about us and wonder
how we could bear the load, we often found ourselves reassuring and comforting
them. When someone else is hurting, it's hard to imagine how they'll make it
through, but when it's happening to you, you know the only thing to do is just
go through it. Every day that passed, helped remind us to cherish the time we
did have. Every kick and rumble meant you were still okay. There was never a
day that we didn't pray things might be different, but we continued to hear
how many people were touched at your story. In the days leading up to your arrival,
we waited anxiously. We prayed that God would allow us to meet you face to face
before you had to go. Our grief has been long and deep, but meeting you was
a day full of joy. We worried your time with us would be full of struggle, but
instead you slipped away peacefully. You looked just like your sister and we
all fell in love with you. We were blessed with the gift of seeing you open
your eyes, even though it was only for a few minutes. Many people came to meet
you and we were anxious to share our day with them. We know those who came will
help us to remember you well. We hope that others will realize that even your
short life was full of purpose. We have learned so much from you already. We
will continue to miss you greatly but invited those here to share with us not
only in grieving your loss, but in celebrating your life. As David said of his
son in 2 Samuel 12:23 "I will go to him, but he will not return to me."
We know that you are in Heaven now, and God has made you whole. Someday we will
see you again and get to know what you would have been like. Until then, we
will always cherish the months we were given to prepare for our short hello.
You will always be our second born, no matter how our family grows, you will
not lose your place.
We can only hope that others will see the blessings you have brought us beyond
the tears and help us to remember you always. We love you Jenna Grace.
Mom & Dad