Community of Sorrow

"Out of my bondage, sorrow, and night,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into Thy freedom, gladness, and light,
Jesus, I come to Thee;
Out of my sickness, into Thy health,
Out of my want and into Thy wealth,
Out of my sin and into Thyself,
Jesus, I come to Thee."

Being a part of community isn't always full of joy. Today has been filled with sorrow. A dear friend of ours, who had a baby due around the same time as us, is dealing with unspeakable sadness. Her baby was born via C-section, and whisked away. A week later, her baby passed away. She only got to hold her little baby girl once.

Today we recieved news of her baby's passing. We are shocked and saddened. We pray for her and her family, and ask you to do the same. We have spent time in tears, prayer and shock. We have held our little boys close, thanking God for their lives. And our hearts ache for our friend whose arms are now empty. We wonder how we can support her from half a world away.

When I worked at Langley Memorial Hospital as a baby photographer, I was informed of what they call the "butterfly room." Whenever a baby was born and passed away, a butterfly was placed on the door to imform all staff and visitors that the family was dealing with a loss. A few hours after we recieved this news, I was praying about what we could do to support our friend from so far away. God placed "a butterfly" on my heart. I knew what He meant. I spent a few moments trying to get creative on how to create a butterfly. I'm not an artist by any stretch of the imagination, so this was difficult for me. I wanted the butterfly to remind our family of the loss of this little baby and to remind us to cherish our children. It was then that God brought to mind little feet. Dan and I, together with Joel and Micah created a butterfly to place in our home. Each one of us has put a piece of ourselves into it. It may not be beautiful or even look like a butterfly to some, but to our family its a stricking reminder of little Maria. Her name is placed in the antennae of the butterfly to remind us to pray for her family.

Today has brought sorrow and we have spent the day learning how to mourn from afar. But we know that even though we are miles away, we have been brought closer through our grief. As a Christian community, our thoughts and prayers can close the gap.  

"Out of my bondage, sorrow, and night,
Jesus, We come to Thee."