For those of you who missed Jonah's memorial it was a beautiful service. We were surrounded by so much love. Jonah made such an impact on this Earth for only being with us for 7 days. He will truly be missed by his mommy, daddy, brother, and so many others. We love that baby so much and only wish we could of had more than 7 days with him. But instead of dwelling on the days we won't have with Jonah, we are going to remember those memories we do have of him and we know we will see him again one day. Like Pastor Mark said, An eternity is much better than the time we have on Earth.
Here is the letter that was read, on my behalf, that I wrote to Jonah,
Jonah, my sweet baby boy,
How do I say good-bye?
God formed you in my belly and I carried you for 6 months. 6 precious months I will never forget. Those wiggles, jabs, and movements I’ll always remember.
The last month was a struggle for both of us. You showed us how strong of a baby you were. When doctors told us you wouldn’t make it; you proved them wrong. You are the strongest baby I know.
You blessed us with one whole week of watching those wiggles, jabs, and movements. Mommy and daddy were so blessed to see your handsome face, gorgeous eyes, and tiny fingers and toes.
How do I say good-bye?
I’m not saying good-bye. You will forever be a part of my heart. I will never forget you and always think about you often. I will tell others how strong of a baby you were. How you lived up to the meaning of your name, strong fighter.
No, I’m not saying good-bye because I will see you again.
I love you to the moon and back.
Here is what Joel wrote and read at the service,
The saying goes that a son is supposed to bury his father. A father is not supposed to bury his son. Today we have the unfortunate task of burying our sweet boy. Jonah Donovan Naylor came into this world unexpectedly on June 27th, 2014 at 5:32pm and left us even more unexpectedly on July 4th, 2014 at 1:51pm. He was with us for 9859 minutes. This was 9859 minutes we were able to spend with our son. 9859 minutes of pure joy. 9859 minutes we will never forget or regret. Jonah gave us 9859 minutes that we were not supposed to have.
Jonah was fighting a losing battle since we found out he had Hydrops. The doctors did not expect him to survive after 24 weeks. But he made it to 28. They did not expect him to survive his 1st blood transfusion while still in utero. He survived 6. They did not expect him to survive birth. But he gave us 7 days.
He fought for every one of those 9859 minutes and his mother and I are so proud of the baby he was. He was our strong fighter. He did not give up. All the way up to his final breath, he fought.
But he is not alone. He was welcomed by many loved ones who have gone before. His Uncle Mike. Who has probably already taught him how to be a boy scout. His Uncle Larry. Watching re-runs of the Three Stooges. His great-grandma Jeanette and Lucille. His 5 cousins. And his brother or sister we were never able to meet. He will not be alone.
I want to thank our friends and mostly our families. We have been surrounded by so much love and prayer this past week. We are humbled to have them as most people do not have the luxury of great friends or family. And we have both.
Today is a sad day. Probably the hardest day we will ever have in our life. But we are not going to leave here sad. Jonah is in a much better place. He does not have to fight for every breath. His little heart no longer has to work harder than any heart his age has ever worked. He does not have to fight to survive. My sweet boy is surrounded by angels. The most glorious place we all work to be at most of our lives.
Jonah Donovan Naylor
"Our Strong Fighter"
6/27/14-7/4/14
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