Posted in Prayer

     When I logged in to HSB today, I had no idea that a beloved member of our community here had gone home to be with the Lord this week. 

     After a busy few days, I was looking forward to doing a little blogging.  Imagine my shock to read about the unexpected passing of Missey Gray.  She was a fellow AO user, and was in fact using the same year plan I have been using with my oldest.  I am surprised by how greatly the news of her death has affected me.

This was taken from Pattycake's entry on March 2:

Yesterday (March 1) Missey went in to get her stress test that she's been getting every 2 weeks.  The test showed that Missey was loosing amniotic fluid and that she had lost enough of it for  it to be alarming. That's when they decided to go ahead and take the baby.

After they lifted the baby from her body, some of the amniotic fluid got into her blood stream and caused a blood clot, which is what caused her death. She never came out of surgery. Her mil said that this only Happens 1 in 200,000.

She said that the girls are holding up OK. She said that they all slept, no clung, together in their bed last night. The oldest got up at one point and asked if little Nathan could also sleep with them, so they moved him into the bed with the 3 girls. She said that Tom is just in a daze. He has gone to the hospital this morning to be able to feed the baby.

Tom and Missey had chosen a name for the baby, but after Missey passed on they decided to name the baby Melissa Kate.

     I visited her blog for the first time this morning, and was struck with the feeling of time being somewhat suspended there.  Aside from the fact that there are over 100 comments on her last entry offering condolences and words of love and comfort to the family, the actual post, which was written on Wendesday morning as she was headed to her doctor's appointment, seems so normal.  Just another update from the life of a loving homeschooling mom and her family.

     If you have a chance, visit the Company Porch to read a very touching tribute to Missey.  It is obvious from all of the wonderful things written there that Missey made a difference in all the lives she touched, including those of her many online friends who looked to her for encouragement and advice.  What a beautiful soul she is, and how greatly she will be missed.

     Please, keep her family in prayer.  As a mother of young children (of similar ages to the Gray children), it is heartbreaking for me to think of what her husband and little ones (as well as other family members) are going through at this time.

     Life is so fragile.  May we all be reminded that none of us is guarenteed a tomorrow.  Let us make the most of our todays to love our husbands and children and to make a difference for the Lord with the time He gives us here.