Baby Judah was born, died, and raised on the same day: A seed, sprouting to new life.
Bethany, the young mother you see here, posted this to her Facebook page:
He blessed us by opening his eyes so we could look into them and tell him how much we loved him, and we watched his heart beat for thirty minutes. He had a head full of hair just like his mama, eyes like his dad, finger nails, toenails, tooth buds, curled little ears set the same way as his dad’s, the sweetest little pink lips… all of the details the Lord had knitted were absolutely beautiful. The doctors told us months prior he had no nose bone, but Judah had the sweetest, most perfect little nose I had ever seen. He was nearly three pounds. And that little stinker pooped on me twice!!
Saying goodbye to my little love was the deepest, darkest hell I have ever experienced. That searing, breath-taking pain of loss, sickness, death and separation was not how the Father wanted this world to be…. I have never wanted eternity so much nor has it ever felt as close as it does now. A little piece of Adam and me is already waiting for us there, and his name means “passionate praise of the Lord,” Judah Rees. My love for him is still so strong, and I so wanted him and wish he could have been healthy and stayed with Adam and I. But as a mom, it brings me joy to think he never knew what pain, crying and hurtful words were. All he knew was love, and then went right into the most loving place in all eternity that blows all other earthly love away: the arms of the Father.
The crazy part, is all of that- the discomfort, months of morning, noon and night sickness, the horrifying news that took our breath away, the impossible decisions we had to make weekly, daily, hourly that tormented our very souls, the excruciating pain of labor…. was SO worth it. Judah was worth all of it. I would do it again for him.
That must be how Jesus feels about each of us.
The head of our ministry’s spiritual growth, Val: it is her grand baby, Judah, who died and rose thirty minutes after he was born. Shortly after his death, her text came in like clockwork:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” Job 1:21
You are a Seed, Judah Rees. You are a Seed, Bethany. You are a Seed, Val. YOU: DYING TO YOURSELF AND WHAT YOU WANTED IN THAT MOMENT; ACCEPTING WHAT IS WITH PRAISE ON YOUR LIPS; CRYING OUT TO HIM AS YOU CRIED; YOU ARE A SEED, DYING TO BRING PRAISE TO THE ONE WHO IS TO BE PRAISED.
You scattered seeds around the world with your faith. Your trust. When you refused to abort him, your faith brought him life, be it brief. Your repeated desire was: whatever brings God the most glory.
You wanted Judah to live and walk and run and play. You wanted to bring him home and place him in a crib in brand new jammies with little frogs all over them, and wake in the morning to gaze at him all day.
BUT ABOVE THAT, YOU WANTED WHAT CHRIST WANTED IN HIS WORST, MOST HORRIFYING MOMENT: FOR PEOPLE TO BE REUNITED WITH GOD, ABOVE ALL ELSE.
Paul wrote about his –how a seed has to die before new life can rise. How dying to our flesh, denying our self-centeredness, losing our life, makes us LIVE. Jesus said if we lose our life for His sake, we will find it. (Matthew 10:39)
Jesus never promised every seed we scatter will grow. He just promised that he will provide seed to the sower. The seeds we scatter — whether they be seeds of hope, faith, praise, or promise — fall on hearts. If the hearts are soft, the seeds will sprout and take on new life in that person. If hearts are hard, the seeds will bounce off rocky soil and have no effect. If we let the vines come and overtake us — the worries of riches in this life — the sprouts will get choked out and die. Regardless, only God makes things grow. You and I just scatter seeds. God brings the life.
As for the body — it comes and goes. But you are a mother forever.
What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. (1 Corinthians 15:42-44)
Val and Bethany, and the supermen behind them — you are seeds, and the way you handled the life and death of Judah made more sprouts grow in my heart. Today, I feel sure that no mountain is too great. No giant too fierce. No hole too large for God to level. No pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.
Your heart is His heart. He put the thump, thump, thump there. He breathed life into those lungs of yours. Keep the soil of your heart soft, so that when a seed scatterer comes along, it will fall on fresh soil, and new life will grow in you.
Love,
About the Author: Jennifer
