Baby Warrior

I've been wanting to share the letter/testimony that I wrote to Joscelyn in honor of the impact that she made in our lives and in the lives of so many people around us. I've titled this blog "Baby Warrior" because that's who Joscelyn was to me. She was a fighter, a little hero....my little warrior. I still can't believe I shared this at her funeral, especially since I had literally just given birth several days earlier and was a constant puddle of tears, but hey, when the Spirit moves you, you better MOVE. And it really was okay. It was healing actually, and I didn't do it for me. She deserved this. She deserved to be honored, to be spoken for. Most of all God deserved it and more. He deserves to have her in His arms. He deserves all the honor, glory, and praise for the life He gave us even though it was short. He IS worthy....even if I have a hard time understanding how or why, He just is. After all, He is the Potter, and we are the clay. He the Creator, we the creation. It's ALL His. Can you grasp that? I have a hard time wrapping my brain around that. But if we can somehow let that penetrate that every single fiber of our being is for God's glory, for His purpose, to bring HIM praise.....maybe we wouldn't freak out so much when things don't go according to how WE have planned if we kept that mindset and spirit of reverence and awe. Easier said than done, I know.....but it's worth thinking and mulling over. Just think about it. Not our will, but HIS be done.

" I don't consider myself to be an excellent or eloquent speaker by any means, but my prayer is that what I have to say would bless you, shed some light on our journey with Joscelyn, and above all, glorify our Father, our Healer, in Heaven.
     My dearest Joscelyn,
   I knew from the very first moment that I found out that I was pregnant with you that you would bring us so much joy! Not only did you do just that, but you brought to us an encounter with Christ in the short 9 months that I carried you and felt your life in my womb, and the four and a half hours that we held you in our arms. That encounter changed us in ways we never imagined possible. We learned about faith, full surrender, and unrestrained trust in our Creator and Father in Heaven. We have seen the heart of our Father and have felt His immense, undeserved grace and peace through this entire journey. When darkness seemed to cloud over, His light would always shine brighter. Never once did we ever walk alone. Your heart wasn't perfect for this earth, but it was perfect for the purpose that God had for you to fulfill in that short amount of time that He blessed us with. Isaiah 55: 10-12 says,

'As the rain and the snow

    come down from heaven,

and do not return to it

    without watering the earth

and making it bud and flourish,

    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

11 

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:

    It will not return to me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire

    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

12 

You will go out in joy

    and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and hills

    will burst into song before you,

and all the trees of the field

    will clap their hands.'

We glorify and praise God for fulfilling that purpose of using you to show us more of Himself--His word did not return empty. After everything is said and done, we can say and full heartedly believe that our God is and always was GOOD, He is HEALER, and He is more than worthy of our praise. You impacted our lives more than anyone we've ever met, and I will forever treasure and feel so honored and blessed to be you mother and call you my daughter. Your name was given to us by God and means joy, health, and long life. God has answered and fulfilled His promise to you of healing as well as long life with Him in Heaven where you are safely resting, completely whole, in the arms of Jesus. We have such an amazing peace and true joy right now and it's only because of Jesus. Until we see your beautiful face again, dance with Jesus, sweet Joscelyn, dance until I can one day dance with you in Heaven. We love you so much and thank our Father for blessing our lives with you but for a moment. 

   Remember Joscelyn for the peace and the joy that she brought to us and that her purpose was fulfilled on this earth as fleeting as the time was. We desire to honor God because of His gift of Joscelyn and because of who He is through worship so please join us now to do just that and I pray that you can catch a glimpse of what Heaven will be like and know the heart of our Father as we have experienced it. Thank you all for being here with us. We are beyond blessed to have you here, not only today, but for walking with us and praying for us through this entire journey. We love you all so much."

  The last several sentences still hold truth today. To everyone who has sent cards, texts, emails, flowers...oh! the flowers!, brought food, prayed and prayed some more...you will never know how much healing and love we felt through those acts of kindness. Thank you just doesn't feel sufficient. I pray God pours out His blessings abundantly for how you've blessed us, and that when you get to Heaven you hear Him say,  “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ "

I'm including the songs we sang at Joscelyn's funeral so feel free to listen and worship right where you're at. Never have I felt the Holy Spirit like I did when we sang these songs and worshipped God with our baby before our final goodbye here on earth. I pray you feel it too. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWPABE3gycs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZEltZXQpuM