Posted in Noah Updates
Today was our big birthday outing. Three of our children have December birthdays, and neither Jeff nor I were thrilled at the idea of trying to cram in three parties before Abigail comes - especially not knowing when Noah might get sick. We also had a couple of children who didn't get parties because of Noah being in the hospital. We decided to knock out all of the celebrating in one day by inviting a few friends to join us at Build A Bear. The children had never been and all thought that a bear-building day and lunch with friends sounded at least as good as a party - and I loved the idea of no cooking or cleaning! We brought a couple of friends in our big van and met another family at the store. As we pulled into the mall parking garage, the children all starting calling out in concern about a "hurt lady." Jeff and I didn't see anything initially, but as we turned the corner we saw a beautifully dressed older lady on the ground. A mall security person was performing chest compressions. The children all watched speechlessly as we drove by. We quickly began praying for her and her family and those who would work on her, then as we parked a couple of aisles away we were relieved to see EMS and a fire truck arriving. We unloaded everyone and everything while fielding all sorts of questions from our children and the three little guests who were with us. There was no way for us to get into the mall but to walk right past the scene again, and when we did so we were devastated to see the paramedics simply standing around and the still form of the lady covered with a sheet. Evidently they had just arrived too late. Jeff and I tried to shepherd the children as far away as possible, but there is only so much room in a parking garage aisle and they all saw what had happened. They were silent and respectful as we passed, but obviously erupted with both tears and a barrage of questions as soon as we had gone by. The mall is huge, and by the time we reached Build A Bear most of the younger ones were ready to move on (as young children do). Some of the older ones (and mommy!) were still fighting back tears, but we all felt that it was important to celebrate the birthday children and honor them. We truly did have a wonderful time. We didn't realize how much there was to do at Build A Bear and the children wrung as much fun as possible out of each moment. Some of our children brought some of their money and were able to purchase cute little clothes for their animals (we bought the animals). We also bought a rolling pet carrier for Noah's pumps. A mom on a special needs list gave us the idea. This should make it easier for Noah to learn to move his TPN pump with him, and the pull strap will make it easier for children who follow him with his pump. Noah had a great time. One of his best buddies (Hi, Zach!) was there and Noah had a blast hanging out and snuggling with him. He was very interested in all of the items in the store, the Christmas lights, and the escalator. When we finished at Build A Bear we all went out to a pizza buffet. I have to tell you that it seemed strange to all of us to see totally different cars in the area where the lady had died. Of course life must go on, but as we saw holiday shoppers parking and rushing about where a tragedy had occurred just hours earlier, we wondered out loud how many of them had thought even one moment about eternity today. It was a very sobering reminder of what is really important in life. We have always tried to live our lives and parent our children with our priorities right in sight, and our journey with Noah has made us even more aware of the things that are really important, but somehow this drove it home even further. None of us truly know what a day will bring forth. Obviously this dear lady was planning on a day of shopping and never could have dreamed that she would enter eternity this morning. The first question from all of the children was whether she was a Christian or not - this, of course, was the one question we couldn't answer. All we could do was to remind them that while we may not know WHEN we will enter eternity, we CAN know WHERE we will spend it. Dear Reader, if you don't know where you will spend eternity, we would love to help you know. This site http://www.sbc.net/knowjesus/ has a couple of links that each contain clear information on this very topic. If indeed this lady was a believer, we know that the knowledge of her salvation will bring comfort to her loved ones even as they grieve. We haven't spoken much here about the ways that Jeff and I have wrestled with the possibility of losing Noah at a young age, but what I can tell you is that there is a DEEP peace and comfort that comes from knowing that if he dies, we will only lose him for the brief moment that is our life on earth. We will know that he is with the Lord and that we and our other children will join him for eternity. We don't HOPE for this, we KNOW this with total, utter certainty. It is our humble and loving prayer that you would have this sort of rock-solid knowledge as well. It is also the deep desire of your loving Creator that you would know that you will spend eternity with Him. If you have questions about this, or if you read the site above and need someone to discuss it with, please, please don't hesitate to email or contact us. It would be our greatest joy to minister to any of you in this area. Love, Kate |
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Posted by Anonymous
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