Cards from strangers

Something has been happening to us lately that is blowing me away.

We've been getting cards from strangers.

People we've never met have been sending sympathy cards to us, with notes inside about how they were affected by Brigid's story.  I find this amazing.  I'm so grateful for people reaching out to us to tell us how they were praying for us in the midst of our trial, and that they are still praying for us now as we heal from our loss.  A nurse who cared for me in the hospital called me yesterday because she had just learned what happened.  I was able to share with her that God has been so good to us, helping us to heal by enjoying our time together as a family in a way that we never have before.  I shared the example God gave me for Brigid's eulogy and she was encouraged and asked if she could share it with others who are hurting from a loss.

But perhaps the most amazing thing to me is to see how God is carrying out the example, using the experience to touch more people than we ever imagined, just as the birthday surprise would have blessed more people than the chocolate chips alone would have blessed my son. 

I miss Brigid terribly.  She was such a sweet little girl, and I felt like I was really just getting to know her personality and her likes and dislikes.  It took me longer to learn these things about her since she didn't live with me, but a mother learns to read her children, and I felt like I was just learning to read her before she died.  I knew which songs she responded to when I sang to her.  I always said the same thing to her when I bent down to kiss her and she would open her eyes and often give a little smile.  It made me feel like she knew it was me.  I wish I could experience that again, even if it was still in the NICU.   Her due date is not for another ten days, but she's already been born and died.  That makes me so sad. 

But I know that she is with Jesus and with her sister.  And God is so good to show us, through cards from strangers, that her little life affected more people than we might ever know.