10.15.08

Yesterday was National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Day - and it certainly re-opened my eyes to how incredibly lucky I am to have such a vibrant and healthy child. Last year, dear friends delivered a stillborn baby and I think of them often and said the following prayer for them yesterday and for all of the other parents who have experienced such a loss (Psalm copied from a blog, bravely written by a family who recently experienced loss, which opened my eyes to National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Day). My heart aches for all of these families.

Psalm 121
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?

2 My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;

4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;

8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Every once in awhile you need an eye-opener to bring you back to reality - to remind you what is truly important. It's easy to get bogged down in everyday life and miss all of the wonderful things that make up your life. For me, yesterday, was a reminder to how beautiful my life truly is and how close I came to being one of the families that I prayed for yesterday. There were two times in her life that I thought Saela would not survive and those were truly the scariest moments in my life so I wanted to take the opportunity to tell her this:

Saela,
Something I never want you to forget is from the moment your daddy and I knew about you - we have loved you. Only when you have a child of your own will you realize the depth of our love for you. We continue to be so grateful to God for keeping you safe for us to nurture and love.
Love to my Baby Girl,
Mommy