When my oldest son was born he was a chubby baby at 10
pounds 4oz! This is funny because now he’s a truck driver and he uses those
numbers all the time…10-4 good buddy!
Our closest friends had given birth to a beautiful baby girl
named Cheryl just a few months before us. She had huge blue eyes, curly reddish
hair, and a smile that melted my heart. We often talked about getting them
together when they were older and then we could be related—that’s how close we
were.
Unfortunately, Cheryl was born with a hole in her heart, so
she was not as healthy as our little guy.
Just about the time Cheryl was learning to walk, the doctors
decided it was time to fix that hole, so they scheduled her surgery at Henry Ford
Hospital in Detroit. We prayed with our friends about this surgery because it
was quite involved. Then they left for Detroit.
I remember dropping down on our bed in shock after the phone
call that Cheryl had not made it through the surgery. My husband cradled me in
his arms as we both wept hard tears. Cheryl’s dad was my husband’s best friend growing
up and his best man at our wedding. We had shared so many things together as
young families. This was unbelievable.
Less than a week later we were doing something we had never
wanted to do—go to a baby’s funeral. As we walked into our church the sight
that met my eyes became etched on my mind forever. At the front was a tiny
white casket with our friends’ beautiful daughter inside. Her red hair was even
brighter against the white silk pillow where she lay. Her tiny little hands
were still curled in that baby-like half-opened position, but her gorgeous
smile was gone
As I backed up from the casket I was immediately surrounded
with a waterfall of color. It was the largest floral display I had ever seen.
Blues, yellows, purples, greens. and every other color of the rainbow brought
to mind the colorful baby toys I had remembered Cheryl playing with just a few
days before. I was speechless and began crying like it would never stop.
As we took our seats for the funeral to begin, a new and disturbing
thought grabbed hold of me. After this funeral was over I would go home to a
beautiful, healthy baby boy and our friends would go home to an empty house. I
began to shake so hard my husband had to put his arm around me to calm me. Why would
God let this happen? How does He choose? What will life be like for our
friends? Would our relationship ever be the same again?
God did give our friends peace about Cheryl. They were
strong believers and realized God had a plan and even if the outcome wasn’t
what they had planned, it was HIS plan for them. That took amazing strength and
the peace that only God can give.
We continued to raise our baby boy and had three more
children. Our friends eventually had three more children, too. Our relationship
only grew closer over the years and then they moved down south. When we visited,
it was like we’d never parted.
They were witnesses to me that God’s plans are not our plans.
We can grow stronger as God places these experiences in our pathway if we yield
to His ways and will. Going through this with our friends helped prepare me for
what God had in mind for our family down the road.
Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are
your
ways My ways,” says the LORD.
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