Friends, I implore you to pray on behalf of Rachel and Justin.  I met Justin and his dad upstairs in the Family Lounge a little over a week ago.  Justin and Rachel’s baby boy, Jack was only a few days old and in frightening state.  He was born beautiful and healthy, over 9 pounds but in the course of labor there was damage done to his brain as a result of lack of oxygen.  At birth his brain waves were flat, showing no activity.  They cooled his body down on a cooling mat for 72 hours to give his body a chance to rest and recover, which he did in part as he began to have brain activity once he began to warm up.  However, he had no gag reflex and everything pointed to severe brain damage at the core of his brain.  I saw Justin a few more times and once met Rachel as well in the hall.  Their mingled grief and hope overwhelmed me with sorrow.  Yesterday, as I was coming in from taking a load out to the car, I ran into Justin.  He said that they were bringing Jack home.  My mind groped to understand what this could possibly mean.  They had exhausted everything that could be done for him and they were bringing their beloved little man home to die.  I felt my heart ripping with searing pain as I considered that we both were bringing our precious children home, mine to live and theirs to die.  I do not deserve this much hoped for outcome with Allistaire and they do not deserve to never know the fullness of Jack.  It just is and I don’t claim to understand the wisdom of God in this but I do thank Him that He seems to be holding up Rachel and Justin.  Please pray for them as they are now at home, surrounded by so many tangible evidences of the life they had prepared so lovingly for.  Pray that Jack would die peacefully.  Father meet them in this dark time and hold them in close to you.

For more updates, you can visit their Caring Bridge site.  Even though you do not know them, please consider leaving a message on their site to uplift them with all the care and prayers on their behalf.