What a good weekend this has been.
It has been one of those highly anticipated trips that David and I have been planning for the two of us to take for a long time.
It has also been a weekend filled with tears, lots of tears, even a few gut-wrenching sobs at times.
We met some new friends with similar stories.
We met more new friends with completely different stories.
Stories of sorrow, but also redeeming stories of Christ carrying us. There were stories punctuated with heartily laughter and tears of joy. There were stories of abundant life lived and of heavenly rewards gained.
We met old friends whose stories were well known to us.
We met friends that we have known for a long time, but only in the elusive internet world.
We were welcomed at the door with hugs and warm smiles.
We were shown to comfortable rooms that felt like home.
We were offered snacks and drinks, food and fellowship, friendship and understanding.
This weekend we finally got to attend the While We’re Waiting Bereavement Retreat in Hot Springs Arkansas. It is located on the beautiful WWW Refuge, overlooking a serene pond with deer playing in the background. It truly felt like holy ground, a place you go to begin healing from the traumas inflicted when your child runs ahead to heaven.
I can’t share the other parent’s stories; those are their personal life journeys to share. I can however tell you they have each seen sorrow. They know disappointment. They have tasted the bitter defeat of handing a child back to heaven, but they also know the comfort in trusting that somehow Jesus will use these painful things to grow us and bring him glory. They KNOW their savior loves them, just as we know he loves us. They understand he cared immensely for their children, even in the face of the deepest losses we could ever imagine.
If you are a bereaved parent, you understand this fellowship. You know that no matter how hard someone tries to understand your pain that they cannot fully know the depth unless they have also lost a child. You forge these new friendships knowing that you hate that they know the feeling. You hate that you know the hurts. You never want anyone to know this pain, and yet you are grateful they get it. You feel less alone on the journey by hearing the other stories, knowing the children, hugging the parents.
And so, I want to tell you about this weekend.
We were fed many meals, but our Saturday night chef is a renowned cook who fed us a full 5 course meal and entertained us as he taught us. We tried things we would have never tried, enjoyed flavors straight out of a 5-star restaurant, yet meals no one else has ever had. This chef never repeats a menu. No matter how many times he cooks for WWW or even for others, he always writes a new menu.
During the afternoon we had time to walk the beautiful trails and the memorial walkway where many children’s names are listed in the stone pavers. We listened to the musical splashes of the water flowing through the fountains. We sat on the deck and shared our hearts. We gathered in the great room with many boxes of tissues and listened to 21 different people share their lives with us. We shared our girl. We told Millie’s story, we shared her picture, we told how smart she was, but most importantly we shared that we tell her story to point to HIS STORY.
I hope by now you know that I share my sweet Millie with you because I told the Lord that I would praise him if we won earthly healing but also if we gained heavenly healing instead. That I would tell you ‘Even if’ it felt we had lost here on earth, that I still know the truth—WE KNOW—the truth.
Millie is healed! We know that fully. And just as we know it, we were given opportunity to testify to that in front of these other hurting parents. We were not elevated among them, no, each of them knew their children were healed too. We were simply there to walk the journey side by side as a support. We were blessed and hopefully our presence blessed them also.
I left the retreat on Sunday morning refreshed, with new hope and anticipation of what God is doing in my life. Looking forward to how he will use Millie’s story, My story, ultimately His story for good.
~Because of Millie
Blessings sweet friends…
︵‿︵‿୨☆୧‿︵‿︵
☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★
I still believe in Millie’s Miracle
☆｡･:*:･ﾟ Hebrews 11:1 ｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
︵‿︵‿୨☆୧‿︵‿︵
No comments:
Post a Comment