Comfort for parents of a baby with anencephaly
God is our refuge and strength,
a tested help in times of trouble.
The Bible, Psalm 46.1
*
Give your burdens to the Lord.
He will carry them.
He will not permit the godly to slip or fall.
The Bible, Psalm 55.22
*
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body, and knit them together in my mother's womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
It is amazing to think about.
Your workmanship is marvellous – and how well I know it.
You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion!
You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe.
Every day was recorded in your Book!
The Bible, Psalm 139.13–16
*
Men judge by outward appearance,
but I look at a man's thoughts and intentions.
The Bible, 1 Samuel 16.7
*
Beware that you don't look down upon a single one of these little children.
For I tell you that in heaven their angels have constant access to my Father.
The Bible, Matthew 18.10
*
God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
1 Corinthians 1:27
*
Today I have set before you life or death,
blessing or curse.
Oh, that you would choose life;
that you and your children might live!
Choose to love the Lord your God and to obey him and to cling to him,
for he is your life and the length of your days.
The Bible, Deuteronomy 30.19–20
*
So we do not look at what we can see at this moment,
the troubles all around us,
but we look forward to the joys in heaven which we have not yet seen.
The troubles will soon be over, but the joys to come will last fore ever.
For we know that when this tent we live in now is taken down
– when we die and leave these bodies –
we will have wonderful new bodies in heaven,
homes that will be ours for evermore,
made for us by God himself, and not by human hands.
The Bible, 2 Corinthians 4.18 – 5.1
*
In the same way our earthly bodies which die and decay are different from the bodies we shall have when we come back to life again,
for they will never die.
The bodies we have now embarrass us, for they become sick and die;
but they will be full of glory when we come back to life again.
Yes, they are weak, dying bodies now, but when we live again they will be full of strength.
The Bible, 1 Corinthians 15.42–43
*
For our earthly bodies, the ones we have now that can die,
must be transformed into heavenly bodies that cannot perish but will live forever.
When this happens, then at last this Scripture will come true –
"Death is swallowed up in victory."
O death, where then your victory?
Where then your sting?
...
How we thank God for all of this!
Is it he who makes us victorious through Jesus Christ our Lord!
The Bible, 1 Corinthians 15.53–47
*
In everything you do, put God first,
and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.
The Bible, Proverbs 3.6
*
If you love someone you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost.
..., but love goes on for ever.
The Bible, 1 Corinthians 13.7–8
*
There is a way that seems right to a man,
but the way is the way of death.
The Bible, Proverbs 14.12
*
David replied, "I fasted and wept while the child was alive,
for I said
'Perhaps the Lord will be gracious to me and let the child live.'
But why should I fast when he is dead?
Can I bring him back again?
I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."
The Bible, 2 Samuel 12.22–23
*
And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good
if we love God and are fitting into his plans.
The Bible, Romans 8.28
*
Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later.
The Bible, Romans 8.18
*
Then he turned my sorrow into joy!
He took away my clothes of mourning and gave me gay and festive garments to rejoice in
so that I might sing glad praises to the Lord instead of lying in silence in the grave.
O Lord my God, I will keep on thanking you forever!
The Bible, Psalms 30.11–12
*
There is a right time for everything,
A time to be born, a time to die; ...
A time to cry; A time to laugh;
A time to grieve; A time to dance; ...
A time to hug; A time not to hug;
The Bible, Ecclesiastes 3.1–5
*
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;
and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:
for the former things are passed away.
The Bible, Revelation 21.4
*
Be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart;
all ye that hope in the Lord.
The Bible, Psalm 31.24
*
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,
shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
The Bible, Philippians 4.7
*
Yet they say, "My Lord deserted us; he has forgotten us."
"Never! Can a mother forget her little child and not have love for her own son?
Yet even if that should be, I will not forget you.
See, I have tattooed your name upon my palm and ever before me is a picture of Jerusalem's walls in ruins."
The Bible, Isaiah 49.14–16
*
After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from all nations and provinces and languages,
standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb,
clothed in white, with palm branches in their hands.
And they were shouting with a mighty shout,
"Salvation comes from our God upon the throne, and from the Lamb."
That is why they are here before the throne of God, serving him day and night in his temple.
The one sitting on the throne will shelter them;
they will never be hungry again, nor thirsty, and they will be fully protected from the scorching noontime heat.
For the Lamb standing in front of the throne will feed them and be their shepherd and lead them to the springs of the water of life.
And God will wipe their tears away.
The Bible, The Revelation 7:9–10,15–17
*
All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean;
to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an
oath.
The Bible, Ecclesiastes 9.2
*
Whatever clouds you face today, ask Jesus, the light of the world, to help you look behind the cloud to see His glory and
His plans for you.
Billy Graham
*
"Those we love are with the Lord,
and the Lord has promised to be with us.
If they are with Him,
and He is with us,
they cannot be faraway."
Peter Marshall
*
You are valuable because you exist.
Not because of what you do or what you have done,
but simply because you are.
Max Lucado
*
Some Loves last a Moment
Some Loves last a Lifetime
Sometimes a Moment is a Lifetime
Author unknown
*
Footprints in the Sand
One night I had a dream.
I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Across the sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand:
one belonging to me, and the other to the Lord.
When the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that many times along the path of my life there was only one set of footprints.
I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in my life.
This really bothered me and I questioned the Lord about it.
"Lord, You said that once I decided to follow You, You'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when I needed You most You would leave me."
The Lord replied,
"My precious child, I love you and would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."
Margaret Fishback Powers
*
In the moment of sorrow, which is beyond our understanding,
there is a peace that comes when we are trusting in the One who has promised there shall be no tears in Heaven.
Cliff Gribick
*
A Mothers Love
I didn't have to look into your eyes
to fall in love with you.
I didn't have to hear you cry
to know you loved me too.
I didn't need to hold your hand
to cherish you for always.
Within my womb, we shared our hearts,
you touched my soul.
You sweetened my spirit
You gave me memories I'll always hold clear.
Yes, my heart aches since you departed too soon.
But a mother's love does not end with death.
For you are my child,
Forever my love is yours...
Author unknown
*
"There is nothing to be afraid of if you believe and know that the cause for which you stand is right.
You are ready to face anything and you face it with a humble smile...
because you know that all of eternity stands with you and the angels stand beside you..."
Martin Luther King, Jr.
*
What we have once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose,
for all that we love deeply becomes part of us.
Helen Keller
*
Grief is not a sign of weakness or a lack of faith...
It is the price of
LOVE....
*
Counselors can comfort you in the storm,
but you need a God who can still the storm.
Philosophers can debate the meaning of life,
but you need a Lord who can declare the meaning of life.
Max Lucado
*
God promises a lamp unto our feet,
not a crystal ball into the future.
Max Lucado
*
Jesus doesn't give hope by changing the circumstances;
he restores our hope by giving us himself.
And he has promised to stay until the very end.
Max Lucado
*
Don't measure the size of the mountain;
talk to the One who can move it.
Max Lucado
*
God never said that the journey would be easy,
but he did say that the arrival would be worthwhile.
Max Lucado
*
"Hope is not the expectation
that things will turn out well,
but the conviction that something is
worth working for,
however it turns out."
Vaclav Havel
*
" It is the time you have wasted on your rose that makes your rose so important. ...
You are responsible for your rose."
Antoine de Saint Exupéry
*
At the beginning of the being there is a message that contains life and is life.
And if this message is human, this life is human.
Prof. Jérôme Lejeune
*
The pain now is part of the happiness then. That's the deal.
C. S. Lewis
*
If I were to say "God, why me?" about the bad things in my life,
then I should say, "God, why me?" about the good things that have happened in my life.
Arthur Ashe
*
Whether you think you can or you think you can't you're right.
Henry Ford
*
Never measure the height of a mountain until you have reached the top.
Then you will see how low it was.
Dag Hammarskjold
*
The morning glory that blooms for an hour
Differs not at heart
From the giant pine that lives for a thousand years.
Teitoko Matsunaga
*
If you can dream it, you can do it.
Walt Disney
*
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face...
You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
Eleanor Roosevelt
*
If God is strong enough to prevent these things, He either enjoys our pain or He knows that it is necessary for our
ultimate good.
So we believe the latter and carry on. God is good but entirely too vast to understand.
C.S. Lewis
*
A hundred years from now,
it will not matter what my bank account was,
the sort of house I lived in,
or the kind of car I drove...
but the world may be different
because I was important
in the life of a child
Author unknown
*
Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened !
Author unknown
*
Is death the last sleep ?
No, it's the final awakening.
Sir Walter Scott
*
Not lost, but gone before!
Corrie Ten Boom
*
Some Children come into our lives and go quickly.
Some children come into our lives and stay awhile.
All our children come into our lives and leave footprints.
Some oh so small; Some a little larger; Some, larger still,
But all have left their footprint on our lives; in our hearts,
And we will never, never be the same.
Doreen Whitaker Sexton
*
When someone dies, you don't get over it by forgetting.
You get over it by remembering, and by remembering...
that no person is ever truly lost or gone once they have been in our lives and love us,
as we have loved them.
Leslie Marmon Silko
*
"There is a custom with shepherds in the Alps. In the summertime when the grass in the
lower valleys withers and dries up, the shepherds seek to lead their sheep up a winding,
thorny, and stony pathway to the high grazing lands. The sheep, reluctant to take the
difficult pathway infested with dangers and hardships, turn back and will not follow.
The shepherd then must reach into the flock and take a little lamb and place it under
his arm, then reach in again and grab a lamb and place it under his other arm. Then he
starts up the precipitous pathway. Soon the mother sheep start to follow and afterward
the entire flock. At last they ascend the torturous trail to green pastures."
J. Vernon McGee
*
*
Last updated April 2, 2019
