When Bad Things Happen to Good People

Have you ever met someone who is so wonderful, but for some reason seems to get more than their fair share of bad things happen to them?  We have friends, who we love dearly, who have tried for a very long time to have children.  They are the type of people who you just know will be the very best of parents.  Ask anyone who knows them and they would say the same thing.  They are kind, caring and some of the most giving people I know.  I really ached for them.  I cried I was so excited when I found out they were going to have twins- a boy and a girl.  I cried again when they found out their little boy has anencephaly (a defect that causes the skull and parts of the brain to not form correctly or at all).  These babies usually are born stillborn or only live for a few hours.  

My first gut reaction was, "Why?!  They have already been through so much. Why do they have to go through this as well?"  And then I started really thinking about their reaction and how incredible they have been in the face of such difficult news.  They are so inspiring to me.  Here they are with such emotional, devastating news and yet they are comforting those around them and making everyone  feel at ease when it should be the other way around. They have somehow found the good in the situation.  Their example has reminded me how each and every one of us has struggles and goes through difficult things in life, but it is how we choose to respond to these challenges that really defines us and solidifies our character (for better or for worse).  They have a difficult road ahead of them.  It will be a mixture of joy and deep sorrow knowing she will give birth to two babies but only come home from the hospital with one.  I am in awe of their eternal perspective and how blessed they feel to have both of them as part of their family.

As soon as I heard the news last week I knew I wanted to do something for them.  I can't change the situation, but I can give love and support.  I set about making a quilt for their little boy right away.  They already have such love for him and want to celebrate his life, however short it may be.  I plan on making a quilt for the little girl as well, but I just felt an urgency in giving them something tangible to hold onto throughout the rest of her pregnancy.  It may sound odd, but while he's still alive inside of her this is their time with him.  For the last 4 days I have spent every extra second I had thinking about and making this quilt.  Life has been super crazy, but I can't even begin to tell you how special this quilt became to me.  I had such a sense of direction and peace envelop me as I worked on it.  When I saw Elizabeth's Heart String tutorial I knew I had to make that the focus of the quilt. They have such a strong love for their little boy that a heart was the natural choice.

I also wanted to make it as personalized as possible in the FMQ.  They have focused on their knowledge that they will be an eternal family and that they will all be together again forever.  I wanted to somehow convey that in the quilt.

I thought this print was extremely fitting for the back.  The message is perfect and it's a cuddly flannel.

It has been a very emotional couple of days, but it has made this quilt a work of pure love.  I cried with her as I gave her the quilt this evening.  I am truly humbled by the faith of her and her husband.  The journey of this quilt was very personal for me as is their story.  If you would like to read their own thoughts you can read it here. 

I debated about sharing such a personal story for the Blogger's Quilt Festival, but in the end I think it is experiences such as these that makes quilting so special and knew it needed to be shared. (Also Linkin' up to TGIFF)