Heaven Came Calling

Heaven came calling today.

For over a month Keila and I have been excited about our new pregnancy. Though the date of arrival wasn't projected until July 5, the baby was already so much a part of our life. Hopes and dreams quickly followed our knowledge of the baby. Elena and Adriana immediately became enthralled with kissing the baby in "Mami's" growing belly. Every night we would all pray for the baby.

A week and a half ago we received some discouraging news from the doctor. He told us the baby wasn't measuring as he should. The doctor expressed his concern that this pregnancy may end soon. After digesting this news both Keila and I felt that we needed to respond with faith. As the little life was still with us, we wanted to continue to celebrate, believe, and pray for a miracle.

After a week and a half of prayer, God called our baby home. His grace was definitely available today to grieve, and grieve we did. It's so difficult to say goodbye to the baby. At one point, Elena hopped on Keila's lap, and we decided it was time to tell her.

"Elena," I said "the baby needs to go to heaven now."

She looked at me with shock as I told her, "We need to say goodbye to the baby."

And Elena, as precious as children can be, bent over and kissed the belly and said, "Goodbye baby."

The Bible says that children are a blessing from the Lord. I can honestly say that the time this baby was with us was a true blessing, he brought us much joy. Keila and I both talked about how it isn't about the duration of the life, but the donation.

We chose the name, Caleb Josue, for our baby. These names represent two men in the Bible (Caleb and Joshua) who had inspirational faith and perseverance. The name Josue (Joshua) is important to honor two men that have inspired me in life...Josue, my bro-in-law, and my best friend, Josh T.

If you are interested in reading Keila's blog you can read her story here:
www.keilalevendusky.blogspot.com