Great Sadness Mixed with Great Joy!

Many of you have heard by now that my oldest daughter, Cherise, gave birth to her second son last Thursday. Unfortunately, he came at 21 weeks. By the time she realized she was in labor it was too late to stop it. She gave birth to Liam Jones on February 5th. He was perfect. He came out fighting for life, but without properly formed lungs, he lasted a little over an hour. If he had been 24 weeks or older, he would have had a chance.

Of course, this tragedy has brought all of us great sadness. We were all anticipating him being born in June. We all had our dreams of what he would be like, who he would look like, and what kind of personality he would manifest. There are all kinds of questions that come to mind and the biggest one is "why?" I know my kids are hoping for some kind of answer because they want to have more children in the future. In spending time with Kellen (Cherise's husband), we both agree that Killian (big brother) doesn't seem destined to be an only child.

We are all processing this with hope. We know God was not distant or uncaring toward Cherise and Kellen. "We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." (Rom. 8:28, NASB) Knowing this doesn't change our sadness or diminish our loss, but we know He loves us and Liam more than we can imagine.

Even though Liam's life was short, he was loved. His life mattered to us and still does. He brought great joy to our hearts because we wanted him. He was conceived in love, he spent 21 weeks surrounded by the love of his mom, dad and family, and he spent one glorious hour being intensely loved by those with whom he came into contact. Even the doctor and nurse were touched to their core.

We know life will go on, but we will always remember Liam Jones and that beautiful little face that graced our lives.