Shannon

~
I'm sitting here listening to Amy Grant sing "Better Than a Hallelujah" and remembering Shannon. 

"God loves a lullaby - in a mother's tears in the dead of night - better than a hallelujah, sometimes......We pour out our miseries, God just hears a melody.  Beautiful the mess we are; the honest cries of breaking hearts are better than a hallelujah." 

Thirteen years ago today I gave birth to a tiny little girl and we named her Shannon.  In some of my writings, I found this reflection, and though the years have passed, so much remains the same......


"It has been just a year since our sweet little daughter, Shannon, was born.

I think most of us have become accustomed to seeing the tiny feet pin that many people wear as a testimony to the fact that life in the womb is real and precious.  These little feet, however, are not the same as those on the pin.  They are the actual footprints of our little Shannon.  We are blessed to have this keepsake of her short life.  She was about 12 weeks old (gestationally) and so small that she fit in the palm of my hand, and yet she was perfectly formed in every observable way.  For some unknown (to us) reason, the Lord saw that it was best for her to be with Him instead of us, and so we released her to Him and carry her memory with us.

In the midst of a time when parts of our government condone abortion, and one of the greatest battles of all time is raging in our nation over the sanctity of life, some of us battle with the loss of life that is beyond our control.  There are many of us who ask why we have to lose the babies we so desperately want, while others throw theirs away so callously.  While the pain is so sharp, and the hurt so deep, there is no answer to that question here on earth.  It is one of the things that the Lord asks us to trust Him with, and we must walk on through the pain, resting in Him every step of the way."

One of the greatest gifts I've ever been given is that of motherhood.  I am so grateful for the lives of my four living children.  Each has been an incredible blessing in my life.  As have the seven souls whose purposes are being played out in God's kingdom, out of my sight but not out of my mind.  I look forward to meeting them again on the other side.

Happy Birthday, Shannon.

Flowers for Shannon.

From Jessie. 

Who always remembers.