Max spent the majority of his ten months of life at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, enduring one physical battle after another. He was my niece's firstborn and even months before his birth the doctors were making dire predictions about his future.
His arrival went better than hoped in many ways. But all along, Max's existence was so tenuous that none but the immediately family - and the doctors and nurses - ever got to meet him and hold him.
Losing a child is the sort of trial that can either deepen the marriage bond or fray it or break it. From all appearances, Lauren and Sean are stronger than ever. Their faith in a loving and all-wise God kept them afloat through months of fear and anxiety and their faith continues now even in their grief.
Death is the greatest test of faith, isn't it? It's where the ultimate rubber meets the ultimate road.
Do we believe in the afterlife? Do we all have resurrected bodies to look forward to? Will we really get to experience an abundant life 100% free of tears and pain and sadness?
Shortly after Max passed away, my oldest brother pointed out that this special little guy had already been greeted on the other side by my parents, his great grandparents.
Whether or not we take that meeting as reality makes all the difference in the world - not only to how we bear the grief of loss, but also how we face our own mortality. Not to mention how we live our lives from day to day.
As for me, I do believe my parents got to meet Max before I did. And I do believe that I will get to meet him some day and that my parents will likely be close by when I do.
And I look forward to that day.
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