God gives & God takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
The Lord chose to take our baby ,Josiah Stephen, to heaven with him at 15 weeks. We chose to name him Josiah because it means "Yahweh supports". God used Josiah in the Bible at such a young age, and God has used our Josiah to teach us many lessons about God in our lives. We chose Stephen because of his daddy, and because it means "Crowned One". It was amazing to see our little one, fingernails and toenails all fully formed at this young age. What an amazing Creator we have. He looked perfect to us, and we can't wait to meet him again in heaven someday. We know that Josiah is in heaven perfect and free from pain and that brings us comfort. We "do not mourn as those who have no hope" for we know our son is in heaven, yet we still mourn for we will miss him here on earth. We miss the playmate Jonas & Esther would have had. We also knows that God had numbered each of Josiah's days. God has brought comfort to us through His Word, and we know He will heal our broken hearts as only He can.
On Tuesday, February 16, Shannon went into the hospital and went through the inducement and delivery process. She lost a lot of blood and is still recovering from that physically which will take about a week.
We have been blessed by prayers and encouraging words from brothers & sisters in Christ. God is good all the time, and we know He does all things well. His mercies are new every morning. We are learning more about God through this valley in our lives and will post more at a later time.
Psalm 139:13-17
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,when I was being made in secret,intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me,when as yet there was none of them.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.
8 comments:
this was precious to read through. Thank you for your sweet testimony.
praying for you right now.
Your family is a wonderful example of God's grace in times of trial. I am so sorry for your loss and am comforted with you knowing that Josiah rests in the sweet arms of His maker!
We are praying for you! Thank you for your testimony during this trial.
we are praying for you guys. praying that the Lord will heal and comfort you and bless you with a continued hope in Him.
We're so sorry for your pain. Thank you for sharing--your testimony of grace is a blessing. Praying for you all.
Thanks for sharing your testimony of this with us. We will continue to be praying for you. I loved the name you chose.
stephen and shannon, esther and jonas:
we are so sorry to hear that your family will be missing josiah. we are praying that you will know the grace of our great God and feel his peace as you struggle through the emotions of loss. we love you.
travis, becky, sam and kara
We sorrow but not as those who have no hope. I was so touched by your testimony of the Lord's work in your hearts during this valley. We are mourning with you and weeping with you but also saying, "Blessed be the name of the Lord" with you too.
I know you will have days that will be more difficult than others. If you ever need to talk, email me and we'll make it happen. (Oh, and we can talk on good days too -- in fact, we should make time to do it in the next few months).
Love you guys!
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