Jeanne
When I asked for prayer requests before the beginning of last night’s Geneva Bible study, Mark raised his hand and whispered that his and Brigitte’s 6-month-old daughter, Jeanne, had gone to be with the Lord earlier that morning.
This tiny little girl came into our world with Downs and a heart defect, welcomed by a loving family. Although she had trouble getting enough nourishment, we nearly always saw her awake and attentive. She even attended our summer youth camp, “working” in the laundry room with Brigitte.
She entered the hospital 10 weeks ago for corrective heart surgery and never came out. She put up with a lot more medical stuff as the family and doctors did their best for her, trying to guarantee a more healthy future.
What do you do when parents pray for weeks on end, when a church prays and prays, then suddenly receive tragic news? We gathered around the couple, held their hands, and prayed some more. And we encouraged each other to hold firm to our hope.
Jeanne is survived by mom and dad, two older brothers and an older sister.
posted by Brady @ 10:43 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
You hold on to each other so that they know that God is holding on to them too. Thanks for being there. The reality of God in Jesus is that he is close by.
My heart goes out to them. I can't imagine their grief and loss. For whatever it's worth, they have people around the world praying for them today.
First, the fact that Mark and Brigitte chose to be with you and your Bible Study group on the very day of their daughter's death, says something about their faith as well as their level of pain. A prayer has gone up for them as you read this.
As far as your question is concerned, you did all that one can do on this side of eternity. I am convinced that your presence, your touch, and your prayers hold more healing power than months of therapy.
If you want some "real" information to your question you might consider contacting Rick Atchley (http://www.rhchurch.org/) at the Richland Hills Church of Christ in Ft. Worth, Texas. Rick gave an outstanding 3 day class at the Pepperdine Lectures 2 years ago on the ministry of healing.
One of the things I gleamed from that class was to be intentional when praying with my members concerning an illness, that they would be able to accept the answers to their prayers whether they be yes or no. Rick showed a video clip of a young couple from his church that had recently lost a young child. The mother said each day since the death of her child was tough but what was helping them make it was the fact that they did pray for their ability to accept the outcome of their child's illness, whether it was good or bad.
May God bless you Brady as you minister to this couple.
You did exactly what you should do.
Hey Brady!
I'll be praying for the family. I don't even have a child of my own yet and can only imagine how horrible it would be to loose one. I know you and know that God will work through you to help the family in whatever way you can.
I'll go ahead and use this oppurtunity to add a similar prayer request from OC. I dont know how many of you know/knew Kim Gaither, but I know many people knew her, so you might. She was a wonderful godly woman who was one of the greatest human examples of God's love and has touched many lives. She has been suffering from cancer for about 4 years and past away the Saturday evening before thanksgiving. She left behind her husband, David Gaither, and two children, Luke (a sophomore at OC) and Brianna (I think a Junior in highschool). Please pray for the family and all those who were close to her (which is many people).
Smith family, I love you guys and miss seeing you! I thank the Lord for internet so that we can more easily stay in touch! God bless you and your family!
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