Dear Jenna,

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

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