Death is a Door

My daughter is 8-months pregnant with my first grandchild - a joyful and wondrous time for all of us as we watch the miraculous formation of new life.

But that joy was seriously shaken this week when one of my daughter's friends gave birth to a precious baby boy, Nathan, who lived only one hour. I'd like to share with you an excerpt from a poem Jessie wrote for his mourning wife Anna (names changed for privacy) and read at the baby's memorial service.

Please open wide your heart and pray for this grieving young couple who, right here at Easter time, can truly comprehend the grief of our Heavenly Father upon the death of his dearly beloved Son.

Little Did I Know

Little did I know ...
That one day in a doctor's office, I would see my wife fall to pieces,
all the hurt and all the pain without any reasons.
God did not ask, and God did not tell, that days ahead would seem to us like a living hell.

Why us?
Why him? she asked.
But not twice, not even once did she beg for it to pass.
To be a husband and to be helpless is one thing I will never forget.
But to be married to my wife is something I will never regret.
We cried, and we prayed and looked to each other for protection,
but before long we knew that's why God sent his Son in our direction.

Little DO I know
why, on April 15th, we would see ourselves begging at His feet.
The anticipation of the unknown was so hard to bear,
some would ask did God ever hear us or did He even care?

The day was here and the time had come for us to give back our little son.
As she held him in her arms, and touched his little face, there was not a sound in the room,

Beloved son, Nathan

only peace in that place.
An hour went by as we enjoyed his short life,
and I stood by amazed at my beautiful wife.

Everything I know tells me all the prayers and late night calls were not in vain,
Because God still prevails, God is still our ALL.
We might not ever know the reason for Nathan's death,
but rest assured it was not his last breath.
We will stay strong in our faith during the days ahead
because we know that our God is alive and our God  is not dead.
Nathan only had a few breaths of life, but his last here was his first with our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Everything I know still won't answer why
Our faith was put through this test,
but I never doubted once that He gave me the best.