Remembering Jeremiah

In this little blog of mine I write about what is happening in my life and the life of my family and what touches my heart. This post will be more difficult than most because something quite tragic has recently touched my heart.

Today I attended the funeral for a precious baby boy, Jeremiah, who was stillborn full-term on Sunday, August 26th. Gratefully I serve a God who takes all circumstances, even the most tragic, and works them for good. I honestly don't know how families who don't know Jesus could even begin to move forward after something like this. Before I go any further, I want to share one of my favorite passages Psalms 139:13-16.

For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother's womb.

I will give thanks to You,

for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Wonderful are Your works,

And my soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from You,

When I was made in secret,

And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;

Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;

And in Your book were all written the days

that were ordained for me,

When as yet there was not one of them.

Though I've often gained great comfort by applying this passage to my own life, today I gain comfort by applying it to Jeremiah. We can rest in knowing that God knew Jeremiah full well and though the doctors had no indication that there was anything medically wrong with him, no test or sonogram on earth can tell what God alone knows. God in His infinite wisdom took Jeremiah home to be with Him before he ever drew a single breath on this earth. And even though this brings great sorrow to all who were awaiting his arrival here, we can rest assured that our God is sovereign and His plan for Jeremiah is best.

Our pastor said something quite profound about Jeremiah at his service. He said that the brevity of his life has nothing to do with its significance. This is so true. You could just look around at the service and graveside today and know that he has touched many lives. His service was very sweet and God honoring. Jeremiah's parents, Luke and Aylin, wanted everyone to know that they have a Savior, Jesus Christ, who is getting them through this difficult time and who is holding their dear son. We're all looking forward to meeting Jeremiah in heaven.

Jeremiah was Luke and Aylin's second son. His four-year-old big brother Joshua is one of our boys favorite play mates. We had offered to let Josh stay with us when it came time for Jeremiah's arrival so we were privileged to have him as our house guest for two days while Aylin was in the hospital. He was such a ray of sunshine in the midst of such sorrow. This was our first time to have a friend sleep over (I think it was Josh's first sleep over too) and we really had a fun time.

Here are some pictures we took of the boys enjoying some outdoor activity. We haven't had any significant rain since then so these chalk marks are still on my sidewalk. The forced perspective on this shot makes Benjamin and Joshua look like they're about the same size but that's not the case at all which you can tell from the previous picture. Nice camera work, David.
Josh enjoyed riding Nathan's tricycle. Nathan's feet can almost reach the pedals now but it will be a while still before he has it mastered like Josh. At his house Josh has a small bicycle with training wheels that he rides.
To end each day we read to the boys and when Josh was here he was no exception. David read to him before he fell asleep and then went to the boys room and read to them before they got in their beds. Right now the boys really enjoy us reading to them from our VeggieTales Bible Storybook. Each story begins with a short intro by Bob and Larry followed by a Veggie Tales Story. After that comes the same story in scripture from the New international Readers Version and then closing comments by Bob and Larry along with a verse on Qwerty (the computer). Sometimes the boys lose interest before all the reading is done but for the most part they sit and listen very well - especially when you consider that they're wiggly fidgety preschool boys.

Though we've had many friends come and go and many more will cross our path in the years to come (since Abilene is an Air Force and college town many friends are here only for a short while) we will always treasure the friendship we've had with Jeremiah's family, and yes we will always remember Jeremiah.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5