I had the honor of helping my niece, Emily, decorate a shirt
for her 100th day of school while I was at my parent’s house Sunday. My sister-in-law, Emily, mom, and I sat
around the kitchen table and glued 100 little hearts onto her white shirt. She was very meticulous in her precise
placement of her little hearts and giggled as my we burnt our poor fingers on
the hot glue. Emily had purchased
glow-in-the dark puffy paint and decided to add the additional “cool factor” to
the back of her shirt. The three adults
attempted to coach her into planning out her design prior to her dumping the
glue on the shirt. There was no
reasoning with this sweet child. She was
determined and had me smiling the entire time as her creativity poured
out. Since the back of the shirt was
turning into a big blob of glue, I decided that it was about time to help
prepare dinner for my mama’s birthday.
After I took out the vegetables from the refrigerator, washed the
produce, and began cutting away, I looked up to see Emily’s sweet statement of
love for her cousin Grace. She had me in
tears…two times that day!
When Paul and I entered the house that day, Emily ran up to
me and shouted, “I have something for you and Grace.” I just love how she speaks of Grace… like she’s
alive (oh how I wish that were the case) and it gives me goose bumps up and down my body. After she dug around under my parent’s dining room table,
she came up with four Valentine’s Day cards for the both of us. She continues to melt my heart and never
ceases to amaze me. The connection she
shares with Grace is beyond comprehension.
The bond that was formed when Grace was in my womb has carried even
after almost nine months of her passing.
Blessed is an understatement when it comes to describing my feelings
towards my precious Emily. She has
helped me heal from her passing in more ways than one and continues to remind
me Grace isn’t forgotten. I thank Him
daily for the bond… the cousin bond that was formed between the two of
them. I’m sure Gracie is smiling down
and watching over her loving cousin.
Grace is pretty darn blessed to have a cousin like Emily!
On a day in which we profess our love for the ones in our lives, I'm reminded by the greatest, most perfect and unfailing love of all...the love of our Savior. We love today because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). If you don't have a special someone in your life on this Hallmark holiday, remember that you are dearly loved by a Savior that paid the price for you on the cross. You are loved far more by Him than any earthly being.
Happy Valentine's Day, sweet Grace. Mama loves you to the moon and back! Xoxo
Love never gives up,
never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 1 Corinthians 13:7
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