Not long after Thao died, the song "This is Not Where I Belong" became very popular. I'm almost certain Ava thought that song was just for her. It quickly won her over and became her favorite.
As a three year old little girl, who had recently lost her big brother, she was desperately trying to understand Heaven and Jesus and sickness and death. Jeff and I were just as desperately trying to help her.
His death was only 3 1/2 years ago, but sometimes it feels like a lifetime. Today, right now, I ache for Heaven. As many of us are trying to process another sweet baby's death, as we struggle to understand that we won't understand here on earth, we are merely trying to trust in our Lord. We are reminded again that this earth, this life that we often value so much, is fleeting. It's brief, you guys. I've told friends recently, it really doesn't matter if my child lives 5 years or 50, as a parent, it's never enough.
But as a Believer in Jesus Christ, this world is not the end. And even though we grieve, we know our Lord has purpose. He will turn yet another tragedy into glory for Himself. And why is that good?
It's good because He draws us close. And as we are strengthened in our broken times, He brings the sinner to Himself. So through tragedy and loss here on earth, we see Eternal gain. We see that this world is truly not the place we are to focus on. We see that through our loss, our hope can show hopeless people the goodness of our Lord. He is Sovereign. He is good. He is the Creator of Thao and Clive.
Our good friends lost their precious boy less than a week ago. They fought hard for him. They loved him and protected him and did everything parents do. They showed a precious newborn boy the love of Jesus. Even though this doesn't make much sense to us, we know He works it out for good. We know Clive was born into this world because God created him. But this world is fallen and sinful and Clive's body failed him, just as Thao's did.
The crazy thing to us is that precious Clive was in the same hospital, in the exact same room, hooked up to the same machines and many of the same hospital staff as Thao. It's crazy to us, surprising. It may even leave us wondering why. Jeff and I had the privilege of meeting Clive and worshiping Jesus in that room with Sam and Rachel. We were back in that room, fighting the same battle along side our friends. One of our nurses said to me, "Tiffany, did you ever think we'd be back here, in the same room, doing the same thing?"
And even though we cannot understand so much of what has happened, one thing is for sure: God is good. All the time. He never leaves me. I am not alone.
Over and over He gives me Psalm 23. And I cling to it.
Last night we sat with these friends. We have shared things that other parents don't understand. And as much as I HATE that they now understand this kind of battle, I know that God will never leave their side. Please pray for them as their grief is so raw.
In honor of these two sweet boys, our families have come together to set up a memorial fund for Clive and Thao, called Room 423. We purpose to share the hope of Jesus to others on the brink of despair by providing The Jesus Storybook Bible to families in similar situations.
Please share with your friends this special way of honoring Clive's and Thao's lives, help bring glory to our good God, help other families to know Jesus.Click here to donate and share.
As a three year old little girl, who had recently lost her big brother, she was desperately trying to understand Heaven and Jesus and sickness and death. Jeff and I were just as desperately trying to help her.
His death was only 3 1/2 years ago, but sometimes it feels like a lifetime. Today, right now, I ache for Heaven. As many of us are trying to process another sweet baby's death, as we struggle to understand that we won't understand here on earth, we are merely trying to trust in our Lord. We are reminded again that this earth, this life that we often value so much, is fleeting. It's brief, you guys. I've told friends recently, it really doesn't matter if my child lives 5 years or 50, as a parent, it's never enough.
But as a Believer in Jesus Christ, this world is not the end. And even though we grieve, we know our Lord has purpose. He will turn yet another tragedy into glory for Himself. And why is that good?
It's good because He draws us close. And as we are strengthened in our broken times, He brings the sinner to Himself. So through tragedy and loss here on earth, we see Eternal gain. We see that this world is truly not the place we are to focus on. We see that through our loss, our hope can show hopeless people the goodness of our Lord. He is Sovereign. He is good. He is the Creator of Thao and Clive.
Our good friends lost their precious boy less than a week ago. They fought hard for him. They loved him and protected him and did everything parents do. They showed a precious newborn boy the love of Jesus. Even though this doesn't make much sense to us, we know He works it out for good. We know Clive was born into this world because God created him. But this world is fallen and sinful and Clive's body failed him, just as Thao's did.
The crazy thing to us is that precious Clive was in the same hospital, in the exact same room, hooked up to the same machines and many of the same hospital staff as Thao. It's crazy to us, surprising. It may even leave us wondering why. Jeff and I had the privilege of meeting Clive and worshiping Jesus in that room with Sam and Rachel. We were back in that room, fighting the same battle along side our friends. One of our nurses said to me, "Tiffany, did you ever think we'd be back here, in the same room, doing the same thing?"
And even though we cannot understand so much of what has happened, one thing is for sure: God is good. All the time. He never leaves me. I am not alone.
Over and over He gives me Psalm 23. And I cling to it.
Last night we sat with these friends. We have shared things that other parents don't understand. And as much as I HATE that they now understand this kind of battle, I know that God will never leave their side. Please pray for them as their grief is so raw.
In honor of these two sweet boys, our families have come together to set up a memorial fund for Clive and Thao, called Room 423. We purpose to share the hope of Jesus to others on the brink of despair by providing The Jesus Storybook Bible to families in similar situations.
Please share with your friends this special way of honoring Clive's and Thao's lives, help bring glory to our good God, help other families to know Jesus.Click here to donate and share.