Marshall and Lara said goodbye to Timmy yesterday until they see him again in the arms of Christ. If you want to know what a tiny angel looks like, explore their blog a little and see the kind of love Timmy engendered around him in less than two years on this earth.
If you want to see two bigger angels, take a look at Lara and Marshall. The love and support they created around Timmy through an incredibly difficult illness is extraordinary beauty in the midst of some of the deepest pain I think we can know on earth. When Timmy was diagnosed with Leigh Syndrome, Marshall and Lara said that from day one as Timmy's parents their highest calling was to make sure their son knew Christ, whether that was to introduce him to the knowledge of his Savior when we was older or to love him well until Jesus came to take him home. Jesus came yesterday at 3:00 PM, and Timmy's parents and nurses walked him tenderly to the healing embrace of his Heavenly Father.
I am grateful beyond words for the five or so hours I got to spend with the three of them the Tuesday after Christmas, reading Timmy an alphabet book his mama made just for him with pictures of his daddy and lots of other family, smooching his face, laughing at music that only Marshall would know how to find, eating Lara's delicious spaghetti, and listening to Marshall and Lara's hearts (and them listening to me plenty, too, patient people they are!).
God, thank you for the reality of your grace and the promises of restoration. Thank you that Timmy is energized and whole and that you will be nearer to Marshall and Lara than I could ever imagine. Tonight, with my tears, I give you my precious friends.
1 comment:
When David learned that his son through Bathsheba had been stricken ill he fell on his face day and night and prayed unto the Lord to restore him. It did not happen. David washed himself and ate. When asked why he had not continued to pray for the child he replied that the boy was in the arms of God.
Unless you have experienced the divine or heard the telling face to face with someone who has, you may never appreciate the courage and truth in David's actions.
I have had the good fortune of both. The child is safe and at peace in a world we cannot imagine nor can words describe.
There are two gifts in this story that call for praises to the God of heaven. That Timmy is home is obvious. That all of us have read about the lives of extraordinary people who were given the great joy of sharing Timmy's life is the other.
Give thanks and praise to the Lord by how you see His children who appear challenged in our sight but perfect in His. Learn from them and live a life that shows you understand His blessings... even when other scoff, because God is indeed good.
Tony Slusser
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