With tears streaming down my face, I watched a young father from our church carry In His Hands the casket of his baby daughter. I held tight my two sons that were with me with at the funeral, feeling the immense sorrow that they must be feeling as parents who would never get to raise or know their newest child like their other two daughters.
The father led the processional as his baby girl lay in his arms inside the hand-made casket. Close behind him was his wife with their two daughters on both sides of her holding hands. Seeing them come together as a family like this; their love, strength, sorrow, joy and courage emanated throughout the entire church.
I personally was overwhelmed with emotions, for the deep sadness of losing a child and for their deep faith for all of them to be able to stand before the church now without completely losing it.
As they proceeded down the aisle in the opening song, the image of In His Hands came to me. Not only was the father carrying his daughter In His Hands, to let their baby girl go to now eternally be In His Hands. God would now be taking care of this soul forever.
The priest presiding over the mass, said how it’s not about the amount of time we spend on this Earth, it’s about the amount of love our mission serves. Only God knows what this little’s baby’s mission is and it seems unfair to all of us that she didn’t get more than ½ hour on this Earth to live it out.
From what I’ve heard about this couple of this experience, some of this little’s girl’s mission is already ripping at people’s heart and values. You see at some point during her pregnancy, they discovered that their little girl was severely disabled and not expected to live. This couple chose life, to give birth to this girl no matter what she looked like or how long she lived.
Having given birth myself three times, I couldn’t imagine going through one of the most painful experiences of your life not to be overjoyed with your new living, breathing child that you could love for a lifetime. They were overjoyed as well, just not able to physically enjoy raising their daughter.
The pictures at the funeral glowed with love. There is a gorgeous picture of the family all admiring the baby girl as she’s still inside her mother’s womb, with an angelic love surrounding them. Then there are those precious moments when they are holding her right after she is born, filled with warm embraces, loving kisses and hands folded and held together. Before I saw the father carrying the casket, I saw the pictures of him making the casket for her. It was created with such love, like the love I could imagine that Jesus put into the making of all he did as a carpenter. Again, tears.
We are all blessed to have both Earthly fathers and a heavenly father. Both are loving fathers whose privilege it is to hold us children In His Hands. While our Earthly fathers may no longer be with us physically or the father’s children may not be with us physically, we can ALL the time be In His Hands, of our heavenly father.
I think of how many times as a mother, I just need to put whatever it is that I’m dealing with In His Hands. When I don’t know what to do or how to handle something, I pray and ask for the loving and heavenly guidance of my Father. Then I think sadly of how too many times I don’t do this. I keep holding on to it tight In My Hands, thinking that I can handle it and know best.
This was really hitting home to me as my youngest son, 2 ½ years old, was really struggling in mass. Even as we were in another room, I just couldn’t calm him and he kept wanting to yell and run away from me. I didn’t know what else to do so we went outside. I shared my frustration and then prayed and let it go. Soon I felt compelled to hold Garrett In My Hands. I gave him the biggest hug and just held him for minutes. He calmed down and so did I.
Like my son and I, we’ll often struggle, try to fight or do anything to get away from being embraced by those who love us. Yet when we finally reach desperation and let go to let God pick us up with his peaceful embrace we are comforted like never before. Garrett was a HANDFUL, but I was reminded how truly blessed I am that I can still hold his hand.
Whether our children are living with us, are living away from us or are in heaven, this family has inspired me and hopefully you that we will to always put our most precious gift, In His Hands. We can then trust that He’ll guide us in the best way to care for our children, as we’ve allowed God to be closest to them. We can trust that if their time is to go before us in heaven, we know that God is already holding them tight.
I pray that you and I, like this family has done so incredibly, to give it all to Him and rest peacefully In His Hands.
Janae Bower is an inspirational speaker, award-winning author and training consultant. She founded Finding IT, a company that specializes in personal and professional development getting to the heart of what matters most. She started Project GratOtude, a movement to increase gratitude in people’s lives.
Job interviews are an intense and often nerve-wracking process that requires preparation, confidence, and a clear understanding of the role and company. Once the interview is over, following up with a thank you letter is crucial. This blog explores the importance of thank you notes after job interviews, offers practical guidance on writing them, showcases …
What are peer coaching groups? Information on this page assumes that you have read the information at How to Start Your Private Peer Coaching Group. Standard Questions What is a PCG? What Process Does a PCG Use? Who Joins a PCG? What Does “Coaching” Mean in a PCG? What Do People Get Coached On in …
Understanding Critical Thinking: Examples, Guidelines, and Significance Copyright Carter McNamara, Authenticity Consulting, LLC Sections on This Topic Include What is Critical Thinking? Benefits and Examples of Critical Thinking How Good Are Your Critical Thinking Skills? Developing Your Critical Thinking Skills General Resources Also, consider Concentration Creative Thinking Mindfulness Mindsets Reframing Systems Thinking Strategic Thinking Related …
Unleash Creativity: Guidelines & Examples for Creative Thinking Copyright Carter McNamara, Authenticity Consulting, LLC Sections on This Topic Include What is Creative Thinking? Benefits and Examples of Creative Thinking Developing Your Creative Thinking Skills Also, consider Concentration Creative Thinking Critical Thinking Mindfulness Mindsets Reframing Systems Thinking Strategic Thinking Related Library Topics Learn More in the …
Enhance Your Focus: Guidelines and Examples for Mastering Concentration Copyright Carter McNamara, Authenticity Consulting, LLC Sections on This Topic Include What is Concentration? Causes of Poor Concentration Test – How Well Do You Concentrate? Strategies to Improve Your Concentration Also, consider Creative Thinking Critical Thinking Mindfulness Mindsets Reframing Systems Thinking Strategic Thinking Related Library Topic …
Copyright Carter McNamara, Authenticity Consulting, LLC Sections on This Topic Include What is Self-Reflection? How to Improve Your Self-Reflection Also, consider Related Library Topics Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Personal Development In addition to the articles on this current page, also see the following blogs that have posts related to Personal Development. …
Thinking skills are how you use your brain to recognize, interpret, analyze, and come to conclusions about information. It is when you use your brain to make decisions and solve problems. It also is how you use your brain to convey information to others, including to clarify what you want to convey, to whom, and …
The focus of the Library is on resources for personal, professional and organizational development. At the core of these is personal development. Without personal development, it’s difficult to sustain professional and organizational development. Sections in This Topic Include Are You Learning Everyday? Learn, Grow, Lead: Stand Out In the Crowd Various Perspectives About Personal Development …
Copyright Carter McNamara, Authenticity Consulting, LLC Sections of This Topic Include How to Improve Study Skills How to Use Study Guides Also, consider Adult Learning Concentrating Continuous Learning Creative Thinking Critical Thinking Learning in Courses Defining Learning Group Learning Key Terms in Learning Improving Your Learning Improving Your Thinking Learning Styles Memorizing Mindfulness Mindsets Online …
I have worked with several Coaching clients this year who recently lost their jobs. Like so many people in that situation, their fear over finances started to suck their energy and drag them into a downward spiral. To add salt to the wound, they also beat themselves up over losing their job. They add extra …
I’ve collaborated with Dr. Crystal Davis for the past two years. It’s been a nice creative process. I first met Crystal while she was working on her Ph.D. She had read my book “Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service” and wanted to include it as a piece of her dissertation work. Here’s a post …
I recently started reading, “The Pathwork of Self-Transformation” by Eva Pierrakos. From what I’ve gleaned so far, the Pathwork process is about finding the unresolved conflicts within you that create turmoil, problems, tensions in your life. It reminded me of the concept of Polarity Management, the ability to manage conflicting desires, needs, yearnings. The elusive …
‘Tis the season of Love – a time to remember the power of Love to heal, transform, and nourish. Valentine’s day is a reminder of all the ways that Love shows up in our life. Sometimes Love shows up with flowers and candy. Sometimes Love shows up as an unexpected call from a friend. Sometimes …
We and our partners store and/or access information on a device, such as cookies and process personal data. This includes unique identifiers and standard information sent by a device for personalized ads and content, ad and content measurement, and audience insights.
With your permission, we and our partners may use precise geolocation data and identification through device scanning. You may click to consent to our processing as described above. Alternatively, you may click to refuse to consent or access more detailed information. You may also change your preferences before consenting.
Please note that some processing of your personal data may not require your consent, but you have a right to object to such processing. Your preferences will apply to this website only. You can change your preferences at any time by returning to this site or by visiting our privacy policy.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
I’m okay with functional and analytical cookies for website functionality. I agree to the use of cookies under these circumstances:
Will be used if you visit Managementhelp.org
Are necessary for the proper functioning of the website
Enable you to use the site securely
Do not collect personal information that’s not needed for personalization
Help us detect any bugs and improve our website
Collect anonymous information about your visits to our website
Are never used for remarketing
I’m okay with the functional and analytical cookies for marketing purposes and not for website functionality.
Are used to monitor the performance of marketing campaigns
Enable us to compare performance across our marketing campaigns
Are used for individual targeting
Can be used for retargeting on other partner platforms
Enable a more personalized experience