Dear Haven,
Happy Birthday! How we miss you and love you!
I wonder if you know that people who love us and love you have carried you all around the globe? You’ve been wonderful, beautiful places that we will likely never go. Seeing your name on 7 continents and everywhere around the world - even if it’s just Ashland, Ohio - is one of the greatest joys of my life.
Where we will one day go is where you are now. With Jesus, alive and full of joy forever. No life-limiting diagnoses, no anencephaly, no death, no loss. What a day that will be!
I don’t know what Heaven is like, but I hope that you get to be with Bobby. He loved you so and got to be the first one in the family you greeted on streets of gold. That thought makes me happy.
As the years go by, we become more acutely aware of what you might be doing here. As your brothers and sister mark milestones, we remember you didn’t have those experiences. And there is grief in that. But, as we step back and take in as much of the full picture as the Lord allows us to see now, how can any joy in this life compare to Heaven?
So, this year, as we mark your birth, I do it with a twinge of sadness, as always, but also with a peace because I know you are where you were created to be.
19 years without you, but eternity ahead, together. Happy Birthday, sweet son! We loved you every day you were here and we will love you forever.
Love,
Mama
