On the day that our fourth child was stillborn, my father wrote her a letter. With his permission, I’ve decided to share it with you. This letter offers yet another glimpse into the goodness and sovereignty of God, who used what seemed a tragedy to bless many.
Dear precious Little One,
Thank you for the sweet love you brought to your mommy and daddy and dear sisters as well as all of our family. You have a most special place in all of our hearts as we say goodbye and farewell for a short time until we meet again. We will miss you and think of you often.
Your mommy and daddy told us all about you. How precious and sweet you were…. how you moved around inside the womb, how you brought smiles to everyone’s faces, and how they longed to hold you. They told us of your struggle to grow and how they prayed and trusted in Lord for His grace and strength and how He carried them through each day. They told us that you would only visit for a short while as your Heavenly Father was calling you home. And they told us when you took your Father’s hand and returned into His arms.
You came down to this world for such a short time and yet it was long enough to fill our lives with your love.
You could not reach beyond the womb, but you could reach into our hearts.
You could not run and play, but you could hear you mommy and daddy pray.
You could not speak a word, but holy sounds came to your little ears as your mommy, daddy and sisters spoke the words of scripture.
You did not learn to sing, but melodies of music and song that mommy and daddy made would fill the womb and relax your little body.
You could not see your mommy and daddy’s face, but they could gaze lovingly at yours as the sonogram peered into your mommy’s tummy.
You knew your mommy and daddy loved you because they told you so many times. And they knew you loved them too because your love grew in their hearts each day.
Thank you so much for what you taught us when you were here. You taught us to stop and realize what things are most precious and important in this world…
- The joy of a gift from God as a sweet baby grows in the womb
- The precious love of family and friends
- Our dependence upon the Lord and His love and care for each of us.
- And that sorrows are temporary but the joy of the Lord is forever.
So, dear precious Little One, thank you so much for the time you spent with us and the blessings you gave us. We will never be the same again. For we have grown closer to each other and closer to the Lord because you were here and touched our lives. Thank you also for giving us your precious little hand and foot prints so we could see when you touched our world. We will all treasure them until we see you again.
Love,
Granddad
