FINDING HOPE and HEALING AFTER LOSING A CHILD: Christian Stories of Faith and Family - Paperback

by Raymond O. Messick (Author), Susan M. Messick (Author)

Find hope and healing as you walk with Susan and Ray. After Ray met Susan, they were engaged in ten weeks and married in nine months. Faith and prayer kept them strong as they struggled with infertility for ten years.

Several months before their tenth anniversary, Susan was given a sign, and later, a dream of having a little boy with wavy blond hair. After hearing about Susan's dream, and dismissing it, Ray was also given a sign.

A few months later, Susan was pregnant, and finally gave birth to a little boy with wavy blond hair--just like Susan's dream. Three weeks before Evan's third birthday, he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Walk with Susan and Ray as they lived in faith while taking care of Evan, and later, as Ray took care of Susan while she did her best to fight Stage 4 breast cancer. They were married for twenty-seven years.

As you read their dedications to Evan, and Ray's dedication to Susan, you see the confirmation of their love story. Reading their book reveals their remarkable journey with Evan and each other.

Share the moments of grace that they were given, read the Scriptures they used and remind yourself of the hope to come, and consider using their suggestions for dealing with the loss of your child. This book was written to be a blessing and will give you a large measure of comfort in the days ahead.

From the book, Susan's dedication to Evan: "Looking back over the years that I had Evan in my life, I found that my time being with him was about loving a child unconditionally, and not just having a baby. It was about developing the talents he had, not focusing on his limitations; the things I learned from knowing him, not what I could teach him; the puddles we splashed in together, not the rain that fell on us; the music we listened to, not the words he couldn't sing; the adventure of living in his world, not him trying to live in mine; moving forward with courage, not dwelling over what could not be changed; being happy while living in the present, and not worrying about the unknown future."

From the book, Raymond's dedication to Evan: "For my handsome little boy Evan, whom I loved so very much, and waited for so long to be born: I have written this to honor and remember our time together. My plan to stay home with you until your 4th birthday was changed with the discovery of your health problems just after your 2nd birthday. Throughout your life, my priority was your health, safety, and of course, entertainment!" (there is more to read in this dedication)

From the book, Raymond's dedication to Susan: "For my amazing and wonderful wife Susan, whom I truly loved: I teased you on the day that we were married and said that it was your duty to outlive me, and you promised that you would. As things turned out, it was the only promise that you didn't keep. Faith and family were the most important things in your life, and you were always faithful and loving to me and Evan." (there is more to read in this dedication)