Matthew's Funeral
What an amazing night it has been. We knew God was calling us to use Matthew's service as a memorial for other families who have also lost babies...but little did I know how powerful and important it was for other people to have this opportunity!
We set up a side table with flat glass stones for people to write their babies' names on...and some paper hearts for them to write messages to their little ones. Some brought booties or onesies...during the funeral, we put all these things around Matthew's little coffin. Afterward, we took all these items to bury with Matthew in the cemetery.
We had some "Certificates of Life" for people to take with them to honor their babies.
So many people (some we knew...others we didn't) came up to us at the reception sobbing...sharing their story of lost babies...as recently as 2 weeks ago and as long ago as 42 years. Husbands and wives alike wept and said they were so grateful for this opportunity to mourn their little ones. We were so touched by the stories and we made "heart connections" with people who have previously been just faces in the crowd at our huge church.
The music was perfect...our 12 yr old did a Scripture reading and was AMAZING! It was so very sweet. Everybody said that the most gut-wrenching moment was when Jason and I walked up to pick up Matthew's coffin and then we held it together and followed our pastor out of the sanctuary into the reception area.
We're heading to bed...so much I'd love to share, but we are going to sleep knowing that our baby helped so MANY families tonight...and for that we are so deeply grateful!!
We set up a side table with flat glass stones for people to write their babies' names on...and some paper hearts for them to write messages to their little ones. Some brought booties or onesies...during the funeral, we put all these things around Matthew's little coffin. Afterward, we took all these items to bury with Matthew in the cemetery.
We had some "Certificates of Life" for people to take with them to honor their babies.
So many people (some we knew...others we didn't) came up to us at the reception sobbing...sharing their story of lost babies...as recently as 2 weeks ago and as long ago as 42 years. Husbands and wives alike wept and said they were so grateful for this opportunity to mourn their little ones. We were so touched by the stories and we made "heart connections" with people who have previously been just faces in the crowd at our huge church.
The music was perfect...our 12 yr old did a Scripture reading and was AMAZING! It was so very sweet. Everybody said that the most gut-wrenching moment was when Jason and I walked up to pick up Matthew's coffin and then we held it together and followed our pastor out of the sanctuary into the reception area.
We're heading to bed...so much I'd love to share, but we are going to sleep knowing that our baby helped so MANY families tonight...and for that we are so deeply grateful!!
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