Thursday, July 17, 2008

Today was Jacob's funeral and it brought with it an important step in the closure process. We had been going back and forth on whether or not we wanted to see him in his current state (it was closed casket), but in the end, we just realized there could be regret either way so we might as well go for it. We did, and it was a healthy step for us. Seeing him like that was difficult and sad, but in a weird way it was good to see the lifelessness about him. ...just kind of confirming that he's no longer with us on earth.

There is much we could write about today, but we'll leave you with the words that we tried to speak to those at the service.


Thank you for being here and walking through this with us. When we think about losing Jacob, we are heart-broken over the hopes we had for his life… getting to see him grow up with Brody, seeing his personality develop, which one of us he would more closely resemble, and the kind of man he would one day become. We will always wish we could have had more time to know him, and we will always wonder, what if.

Yet, we are so thankful for the 33 hrs that we had. We are grateful that he held on through nine months of pregnancy so that we could meet him, even in his imperfect state. We are grateful that another child my have life through his donated heart valves.

We are grateful to have loving and caring family and friends at our side. You have given us overwhelming support, prayerful encouragement, and perspective. Often, it has been your acts of selfless compassion and sympathy that have brought us to
tears.

Yet, as amazing as this support has been and as grateful as we are for family, friends, even this church, we know that it would all fall short if we did not have an abiding faith in and relationship with Jesus Christ. It is the truth of His word that gives us hope. Even in our sin and shortcomings, our questions and our doubts, He remains steadfast in His grace, and it is the promise of eternity laid out in His Word that brings us great joy for Jacob. He has been set free from the long list of challenges that bound him on earth, and one day, we will join with him again and have all of the why’s of God’s sovereign plan unfold before our eyes.

Thank you being here to meet and say goodbye to Jacob.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The service today was beautiful. I continue to be amazed and inspired by the incredible faith in God that you two display. I loved the music you chose, and it made me think of how I feel and react to trials and tribulations around me, big or small. Thank you for reminding me to worship and trust in Him in all things. I will continue to pray that God is with you.

keep growing said...

I have written more about it on my blog (ha, ha) but I wanted to thank you for your encouragement here. What you are doing is beautiful.

It seemed to me that you're entering an even longer period of expecting Jacob -- of waiting to meet him and get to know him as he is now. This waiting is sure to be more difficult than the first, but I am so glad you can have the joy of expectation along with the sadness of separation. Your deep joy is evident to us all.

Anonymous said...

Aaron and I both appreciate how your family has made God look beautiful. I can really feel you guys' strength that has been given to you from the Lord.
I personally feel blessed by the fact that you two have let so many people in on your life and have been willing to share so much with all of us through this process. Thank you for letting us help you to carry this weight and walk with you through this, even if all we can do is empathize, pray and bring a meal.
I was thinking about Brody the other day and I can imagine that he keeps you both going and cheers you up every once in a while. Well, I can see him having an encouraging spirit about him as he gets older. He just might the person that has a reputation for being encouraging and bringing lots of joy to others....just a thought.