Sunday, April 8, 2012

April 8, 2012: The First Easter...





Heaveno!

Happy Easter!  Today is more than a happy Easter, it is also a sad Easter.  For those of you who didn't know her, baby Quinn Seymour went to heaven yesterday.  She was the third JEB baby to undergo BMT at the University of Minnesota, and despite overcoming so many obstacles along the way, she succumbed to a lethal form of pneumonia on Day +120 of transplant.  She was 2 days shy of 8 months old.

Her daddy, Marc writes an amazing caringbridge page.  Go there and send them some love, or on their facebook profile.

There is so much to say about today, Easter, and how it relates to Quinn, Marc, Bella, and me.  Let me do my best...

Today, at church, we heard, "He is risen!"...

... but what made today SO REAL for me - and I know for Marc - is that thanks to Jesus' sacrifice, and God's promise, "SHE is risen!" (when she = Bella or Quinn)

THIS is what our Easter Celebration is all about.  Up till today, for me, Easter was always like, "Yay, Jesus!  Good for you!  You went to heaven today!"

It never dawned on me that TODAY is the day that I stake my faith on.

TODAY is the day that gave me the strength to get up the day after Bella died.

TODAY IS THE DAY where the rubber meets the road.

TODAY is the day after for Marc, and it is Easter itself.

How amazing is that?

Marc lives his faith out on his sleeve like I do, and I know that for him, Quinn is risen, pain free, enjoying the endless beauty and bounty of God's love in heaven.  I imagine Bella and Tripp there waiting for her, saying, "Welcome back Quinny!  Great job down there!"

This does not remove the pain, but it transforms the experience, and for me, allows me to transcend any suffering.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am in pain, but I am not suffering.  Instead, I choose to  believe that this is all part of God's beautifully divine plan, and that when I am reunited with Him in my heavenly form, He might just let me take a peek of the view from up there...

He is risen.  She is risen.  Alleluia, Quinny!

God night.

9 comments:

  1. Such a beautiful post thank you for sharing your story and proclaiming your ultimate faith in our Saviour Jesus Christ! I wait patiently until the day we are all reunited in Christ. Now that I have read and come to be filled with such overwhelming emotions for all of the EB community, I long to be there to witness Jesus place in each EB mommy & daddy's arms their precious EBfree butterflies <3 God bless all of you & may he renew your strength with each rising of the sun!
    Sincerely,
    Janette Schick ~The butterflies friend

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  2. Tim, thank you so much for this post...once again your words are so profound and provide healing that so many are looking for. I am so grateful to have gotten to know Quinn and her parents and to love them...being a part of their journey has been such a blessing. I know that these sweet babies are basking in joys of heaven, but at the same time the pain and sadness still remain. However sometimes it is that pain that drives us to fight harder.

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  3. Hi, Tim...

    The pictures are precious and the message is priceless. Christ's atoning death and His resurrection are the events upon which our faith is based. We can't truly appreciate what the gift of eternal life means until we've lost someone with whom we are desperate to be reunited.

    "How deep the Father's love for us..." are the opening lines of a favorite song. Easter is a time to reflect on just how deep His love is and on the glory that will be ours to share in the future.

    Thanks for such a poignant post to keep us focused on that which truly matter.

    Be blessed, sweet family...

    Susan
    A friend in NC

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  4. What a lovely thought- that sweet Quinn was resurrected on that most special of all days. It doesn't take away the sadness I feel for another eb family. It makes me so sad to see the list on Patrice's EB Sweeties page get shorter on one side and longer on the other. Angry too. And Chloe passed away last week as well. Please keep up your hard work in awareness and fundraising. I will give whenever I am able. I have been following all of you since Jonah was born, and I keep praying for the tide to turn, that there will be a cure that isn't so hard on these fragile little guys. Just heartbroken all over again. On a different note, goodness, doesn't Ali look like Bella in that picture above where she is holding Julian?!?!?! Lovely to see a glimpse of Bella there, especially those stunning eyes.

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  5. Happy Easter, wonderful Ringgolds! With profound apologies for a long silence, I'd just like to say how much I love the first photo, of Mum and son, and the second, of sister and brother. Such smiles!

    Reading of the passing of one of the Minnesota children, I was brought screeching to a halt once more in the realisation of the devastating path this disease travels. It's like a tornado. Nonetheless, I don't think that tornado reckoned with the likes of you and Ang, and Courtney, and Patrice and Matt, to name but a few. I so appreciate your words and thoughts and ponderings as a blog reader. But I stand in awe of the strength and the power you have honed over the years in your efforts to slam the lid down on EB once and for all.

    I remember fairly recently you described being able to play with Julian. You described how you were doing the usual Daddy-son tomfoolery and loving his little drooly mouth as you larked about, not having to worry about injuries to his limbs or his skin. I shall never be able to comprehend the full extent of EB's capacity to restrict the normal idiocies of kids and their parents as they play together. But that description stopped me in my tracks. I enjoyed those wonderful moments with my children, and reading of your pleasure in being able to do that with Julian, really struck a chord.

    I haven't much more to say, other than to repeat my apology for my silence, and to add that my visits to the blog always refresh and restore, even when your news is clouded with the passing of another wonderful little girl.

    From the rooftops, which are soaking up some fresh Spring sunshine,

    Fondly, once more, to all of you,

    Jane

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  6. This is the first time I comment here, but as always I think your words are beautiful, full of hope! Thanks for your blog, it is always refreshing to read it.

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  7. dearest Tim,
    sorry I haven't responded to your previous post. I had asked the question re your conference. So thank you very much for giving us some more info on that! What an amazing experience that must have been. Spiritually, intellectually and emotionally! I love reading your posts, you are such an amazingly positive and inspiring person. I am sure Bella is watching from above, pointing at you and saying, HEY, LOOK AT MY DADDY. ISN'T HE AWESOME?? thinking of you and your family and sending all my love your way
    christiana (cyprus)

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  8. Simply beautiful. and the truth I want to know and believe in.

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  9. Happy Easter (a little late!) It was so sad to hear about Quinn and Baby Jessica - I will be SOO glad when we can say "EB is NO MORE." Hope you're all doing well - things in TX are rocking along! Sorry for not commenting in a while - I'm doing well just to read all my favorite blogs these days! :)

    Love to Ang, sweet Ali and that handsome J-man!
    Laura (for Team A)

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