Do You Have An Open Hand?

A few months ago I shared with you how a young couple in our church had a three month old baby that went home to be with Jesus.  They have been very strong in their witness and their faith through this long valley in their lives.  They donated their son's heart and shared on Facebook today the letter they wrote to the receiving family. It was so touching, I wanted to share it with you.

      The following is the letter that we wrote to the family that received Gideon's heart. I have been meaning to do this since we received the update letter on where his heart went but I was always unable to just sit and give it the thought that it deserved. Finally, I prayed and found that strength. This is a bit redundant for those who read our posts and my notes but I felt like God was telling me to just sit and write our story--so I listened and followed through.

      LifeShare gives some instructions on how to begin and close the letter and gives tips on what to include and what not to include. The last sentence under general information states: If you are including religious comments, please consider that the religious beliefs of the transplant recipients or donors are unknown. I contemplated for a brief moment over this statement but of course decided to tell of our true journey that involved God every step of the way. This was our testimony and without Jesus we would be lost. So at this time, more than ever, I was going to proclaim His name.
     It has been very difficult to sit down and write a letter but it has been on my “to do” list for the past two months. On March 10th our Gideon went to play with Jesus and we were faced with the most tragic of events and decisions to make. We were forced to face life without him.
      My husband and I had planned for this baby. We sought Jesus and His approval for when to begin trying, to where to live, what car to buy, and who to send him to for daycare. God directed our every step. We even searched Him for the name we were to give him. Gideon, “mighty warrior of God” was given to my husband even months before we knew that we were having a boy. We entrusted our lives to God and His plan. We knew that Gideon was not ours and that we were only borrowing him for the time because all good gifts come from God alone.
      We prayed over him as soon as he was born. We asked God to continue to guide us and give us direction. We thanked him for the responsibility. We immediately dedicated him back to God. We promised to raise him for the glory of God. During his short three months, we read the Bible to him, sang Christian songs and spoke of Jesus often. Looking at him was a constant reminder of all that God had graciously given and we could not help but give thanks and speak and teach of our creator.
     We knew that he would do great things in Christ but we had no idea what that would entail. On mother’s day we were reminded of 1 Samuel 1:27-28, “May we give the Lord all He ask with an open hand.” This doesn’t mean that we didn’t pray for a miracle those three days in the hospital. This doesn’t mean that we do not still cry. It simply means that we do not hold a grudge. We do not blame. We continue to praise Jesus through the blessings and through the sorrows. Our pastor said it best, “We prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted us what we asked of Him. So now we give Him to the Lord.”
     That morning when the final test came back, we were hit with one of our biggest decisions—do we donate or not. I had never thought about it, not even once. Sure, I was a donor but not my baby. I wanted to hold him as he took his last breaths. I wanted his leaving to be with his mommy. I didn’t want his last hours to be spent hooked to machines with his mother nowhere in sight. So when we were approached with the question of us donating his organs, my knee jerk reaction was no. My husband stood firm with me, although he admitted later that he was feeling drawn to donate but did not want to make it any harder on me and force this on me. Almost immediately after saying no, I began to feel God tugging at me. I fought it for a little while and then agreed to hear the speech and consider the options. I had one request—that I be able to hold him at the funeral home one last time without any machines or tubes. They agreed and I felt more at rest about the decision.
      Through Gideon’s short three months, he touched a tremendous amount of lives. There has been salvation through Jesus by the way sweet Gideon moved people. We will never know until Heaven the numbers he has affected. When hearing that his heart went to your 3 month old baby girl and that the heart had good function, we were elated. It was one more life that our little warrior had touched through the grace of God.

Love,
The family of a Mighty Warrior of God