Mighty Molly

My wife and I support a family who has given their life to serve Jesus through the ministry Family Life. We get occasional newsletters from them regarding their ministry, family and detailed prayer requests. But the letter we received today was different. It was devoted to the granddaughter of the director of Family Life, Dennis Rainey. Molly lived but seven days before succumbing to irreversible birth defects. Even as I type I hear my wife weeping in the background, probably realizing that little Molly could as easily have been our little Liz. I've linked below to the email correspondence from Dennis Rainey that came amidst the trial, as well a final email he sent describing the events around her death.

Original emails.
Final email.

As far removed as I am from them and their situation, I am not quite sure how one processes something like this. But I know it is a part of life. I have asked myself on several occasions, "Why did we even have a kid in the first place? Aren't we just submitting ourselves to the possibility of unbearable grief?" I have no answers. The joy and happiness I feel at the site and thought of my daughter trumps the thought of any pain I might endure in the future. That sort of joy comes only from Spirit of God, leading me and my spirit to the knowledge that He will indeed be glorified as a result of anything that ensues. Anything. Dennis concludes his email with words that he really should not have written (well, had they not come from God himself):

"Christians are the ONLY people who can laugh in the midst of such a crisis without despair-we KNOW where we are headed. Heaven is certain because of what Jesus Christ did for us through His death for our sins. Because He lives we who believe have the hope of life after death. If a person places faith in Christ for forgiveness of his sins, surrenders his life to Him, then he can be certain of heaven too. It’s the ultimate reason why death is different for a true follower of Christ. And it’s why we could laugh as our beloved Molly was about to leave us."