Death of a Child

My husband emailed the following paragraphs to me back in December. I saved it because it truly spoke to my heart concerning Levi's death and everything the Lord has lead us through since that day. I found it today while clearing out various emails, and felt compelled to share it as October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month.

 

"In his commentary series, Thru the Bible, J. Vernon McGee tells of a custom among shepherds in the Alps. In the summertime when the grass in the lower valleys withers and dries up, shepherds seek to lead their sheep up a winding, thorny, and stony pathway to the high grazing lands. The sheep, reluctant to take the difficult pathway infested with dangers and hardships, turn back and will not follow. The shepherds make repeated attempts, but the timid sheep will not follow. Finally, a shepherd reaches into the flock and takes a little lamb and places it under his arm, then reaches in again and takes another lamb, placing it under the other arm. Then he starts up the precipitous pathway. Soon the mother sheep start to follow and afterward the entire flock. At last they ascend the tortuous trail to green pastures.

 

The Great Shepherd of the sheep, the Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour, has reached into the flock and He has picked up your lamb. He did not do it to rob you, but to lead you out and upward. He has richer and greener pastures for you, and He wants you to follow."

 

J. Vernon McGee, Death of a Child,(Nashville:  Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1984).