I've been so touched...

I have been the biggest procrastinator about this, but I know this is a sensitive subject for some and I really didn't know if I should post about it or not. But, I have been so touched by this family and would like to share them with you...

This past year I have had quite a few friends and family members have miscarriages or loose babies unexpectedly. It's such a sad thing, but I didn't really emotionally connect with this tragic event until I started reading the blog of Angie Smith (the wife of Todd Smith, who is a singer in the christian band Selah). Angie poured her heart out into this blog about the past nine months where she carried a baby full-term, that they knew would die upon arrival. I have been ADDICTED to the blog for several weeks. They have inspired me so much with the faith they showed through all of this. I have been so blessed just by reading their words. I am forever touched.

You can check out their blog at http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/. I promise that you'll be touched too! (Make sure you have a few Kleenexes handy, especially if you go back to the beginning of the blog and read the whole thing... uffda!)

Here is a little blurb from Angie's last post, which was actually a letter she wrote for baby Audrey, after spending two hours with her after she was born, before she went to be with Jesus...

...I cry for you often. I miss the smell of your skin and your perfect little nose. My arms ache from emptiness. I tell your daddy all the time that I just want to hold you again. I cannot see to write these words because my eyes overflow with the tears of a mother who has been asked to give her daughter away. I knew I would love you when I met you. I knew you would become a part of me. What I didn't know was that instead of feeling like it was a brief encounter, I feel like the world stood still. He somehow gave us an entire lifetime of memories in such a short time. I didn't feel like I lost a baby, I felt like I said goodbye to someone I had always known, who had been my daughter for years and years. Even now, as I write, it seems impossible that you were only with us for 2 1/2 hours. Thank you Lord, for giving us all the time we could have asked for with her. The clock was insignificant... we knew her deeply, a lifetime's worth... We lift up the God that made us strong enough to love our little girl the way she deserved to be loved. And we trust that You will continue to use her as a vessel of your goodness, of your faithfulness. Lord, you have shown me that when this life is empty, you will fill. You have walked with us in a way we could never have imagined. What seemed like a cross to bear has now taken the shape of a great blessing which we are honored to have been a part of. Thank you, Lord. You are the light of our lives, now and forever...

** The picture above I borrowed from Angie's blog (hopefully she won't mind!). It was taken by their good friend Tom Uchida, who is part of the Now I Lay me Down to Sleep organization that I blogged about several months ago.