Child of God - A poem for Isaiah

 As hoped, Heather and Craig posted on their facebook  the poem written by Heather and recited at the Celebration of Life for Isaiah so I feel comfortable sharing this with you.

by Heather & Craig Plus 16 Legs on

Child of God

You are God's Child that He allowed us to shepherd and cherish for awhile.
Like Jesus- on loan to Earthly hands
You are the embodiment of love shared, dreams hoped, and faith fulfilled
Our arms are sinful, selfish, insufficient.
Though we hold you with the greatest of mortal love, we are human.  We fail.
Scraped knees- and broken hearts
Loss- and gain
Triumph- and failure
Try as we may, we cannot heal all wounds or prevent all pain.
So- with love greater than ours, God knew this and took you home.
No tears, no pain- only joy and the Glory of God to light your face.
Your precious face- illuminated with the light of Christ!
Though my arms ache to hold you-
How could I take you from this beauty- for my own fulfillment?
How could I begrudge the arms that made you- holding you safe in His care?
I thank Him for the moment He gave me.
You are not mine, you are God's child.
And in His great love- He shared you with me for a while.

Heather & Craig 2011

Isaiah Samuel Bitterling

Celebration of Life for Isaiah was more than inspirational.....he was a life worth celebrating

 Update again: I attended the Celebration of Life yesterday. Inspirational does not begin to describe the event. This young couple is mature beyond their years...they taught  us so much. You wonder if this needs to be a private family only funeral and should you even intrude on their grief...but this couple who happens to be creative and talented made it a true celebration of life. Isaiah who by earthly terms lived one hour was a life and one worth celebrating! They taught us that...and maybe they will share this beautiful tribute on their face book page. From the funeral brochure they made .... to the video pictures of Issiah's short life to the song that the father sang accompanied by sisters and brothers to the poem written and read by the mother....words escape me except that they will probably not know this side of heaven the testimony of Isaiah and their family.

 

Isaiah: Celebration of Life to be shared with others

 To bring closure  to this post that inspired so many. The family will hold a celebration of life for Isaiah. I had been watching the paper for the obit and calling the funeral home and thought perhaps  they wanted a private service which I could certainly understand.  As they continue  to recover, they are going to allow  us to grieve with them.  Through  the miracle of the internet, people from literally all over the world were praying for this family.

 

"Heather & Craig Plus 16 Legs We will hold a Celebration of Life service for Isaiah on Wednesday, January 12th. All of our friends and family are invited to come and help us celebrate his precious life."

"We have been greatly encouraged by the many messages, prayers, and comments we have been receiving - hearing of the inspiration that Isaiah's story has been to so many people in so many places has been very therapeutic for us. We haven't had the time to respond to many of them, but we have been thanking God repeatedly for all of you!"

"Today, we finally came home from the hospital! Heather lost a lot of blood in her surgery and had to have several blood transfusions - she will require quite a bit more time to fully recover. Praise God for protecting her from the many other, more dangerous scenarios that could have played out."