This is just, well,
all too familiar. . .
a mommy, a daddy, 4 brothers
the smallest of whom is dancing with death. . .
There is a woman I do not know.
Her name is Sara.
Sara has a son.
His name is Bronson.
Baby Bronson is a little over a year old.
Saturday morning,
he was found unconscious in the bathtub.
(Sara if you ever see this,
you should know how it pained me to type those words,
I wish to Heaven they weren't true. . . )
He is now being treated in the same PICU
I just walked away from with empty arms.
My ENTIRE heart and soul is being lifted up in
prayer for this beautiful woman I have never met.
I pray with all the sincerity of my soul,
that when she walks away from
those long, lonely hallways,
she does so with arms and heart filled to the brim
with every joy her faithful heart desires.
I know the fear,
I know the uncertainty,
the pain,
the sorrow,
the terror. . .
The hope.
oh. . . how familiar I became with the hope.
. . .the confident expectation that things would
be right in the end.
and for me they are.
I received my miracle. . . the way it was meant to be.
But, I am praying with ALL MY SOUL that her miracle takes a
different form.
Please join me in prayer for Sara.
Please join me in prayer for Baby Bronson.
for daddy Matt and big brothers Trev, Kade and Dayne.
for all the beautiful angels on both sides of the veil
who are attending to little Bronson's recovery.
God IS a God of miracles.
I KNOW this to be true.
as I know that the sun rises from the East,
and that the sky is blue.
I KNOW this to be true.
And sweet beautiful Sara,
I am praying for one for you.
____________________________________________
PLEASE stop by Sara's blog
and leave a comment letting her know you are
praying for her son.
She needs to know that her army is here,
lifting her up in prayer to a God who we knows hears us every time.
. . . Heaven knows sweet Gavin gave us all a lot of practice.
a mommy, a daddy, 4 brothers
the smallest of whom is dancing with death. . .
There is a woman I do not know.
Her name is Sara.
Sara has a son.
His name is Bronson.
Baby Bronson is a little over a year old.
Saturday morning,
he was found unconscious in the bathtub.
(Sara if you ever see this,
you should know how it pained me to type those words,
I wish to Heaven they weren't true. . . )
He is now being treated in the same PICU
I just walked away from with empty arms.
My ENTIRE heart and soul is being lifted up in
prayer for this beautiful woman I have never met.
I pray with all the sincerity of my soul,
that when she walks away from
those long, lonely hallways,
she does so with arms and heart filled to the brim
with every joy her faithful heart desires.
I know the fear,
I know the uncertainty,
the pain,
the sorrow,
the terror. . .
The hope.
oh. . . how familiar I became with the hope.
. . .the confident expectation that things would
be right in the end.
and for me they are.
I received my miracle. . . the way it was meant to be.
But, I am praying with ALL MY SOUL that her miracle takes a
different form.
Please join me in prayer for Sara.
Please join me in prayer for Baby Bronson.
for daddy Matt and big brothers Trev, Kade and Dayne.
for all the beautiful angels on both sides of the veil
who are attending to little Bronson's recovery.
God IS a God of miracles.
I KNOW this to be true.
as I know that the sun rises from the East,
and that the sky is blue.
I KNOW this to be true.
And sweet beautiful Sara,
I am praying for one for you.
____________________________________________
PLEASE stop by Sara's blog
and leave a comment letting her know you are
praying for her son.
She needs to know that her army is here,
lifting her up in prayer to a God who we knows hears us every time.
. . . Heaven knows sweet Gavin gave us all a lot of practice.
Posts
40 comments:
Your love and concern for others is beyond admirable, Natalie. We are all so lucky and blessed to know you. As always, a million hugs. ~ Ang & Hailey
Tears are flowing. Oh I am praying hard for her and family and I did for you and yours. My heart is breaking.
natalie - you have such an amazing heart. i am just so heart broken for your pain and so inspired by your love for others. i am praying so much for her. i believe, like you, that god is a GOD of miracles!!!!
i stopped by. thanks for always thinking of others. You're such a gem, Nat! I commented on her blog and fell in love with her playlist. I think I'm going to keep the blog up for a while just so I can listen!
I went there and commented. Praying hard.
Praying. And crying.
Natalie, your over-flowing love and undying faith just knock the wind out of me.
how sweet you are to be so sincerely concerned with others pain when yours is still so raw. matt, sara and their boys are an amazing family and i know the lord is hearing our prayers. little bronson has many people on his side.thank you for adding more soldiers to our friends' army.
Thanks Natalie for finding ways to encourage others even in your own grief. Really is so inspiring. You have a real gift.
Praying for Sara, ~Amy
Natalie...you are the bomb diggs. Love you. I just saw that my friend Britney knows this family. The world is tiny indeed.
thanks for sharing this.
Thank you so much for sharing! I am so touched by her story.
Thanks for letting us know! Do you know Sara? We will be praying for Bronson, most definitely.
I've been following your blog for a few weeks now and haven't commented because I'm never sure what to say. Thank you for sending us to Sara's blog. I'm praying for her and her baby and her family. You are an insperation to me. Thank you.
Just gave Sara a little comment love with prayers heading her way. You are an amazing and admirable woman. Not many could think of others in the middle of their own personal struggle. Thinking of you, too...
Stopped in.
Many many prayers.
Absolutely heartbreaking :(
Natalie~
{Sigh}
I am speechless...
And believe me...
That takes a lot...
You are amazing.
I.
Need.
To.
Know.
You.
Love you already~
Sara
Natalie, thank you for reading my one tiny little email and turning it into something huge! I didn't know if, why, or how but you came through...BIG time! Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are my miracle!
your strength is so inspiring to me. it take a remarkable person to show your kind of compassion in your own time of trials. thank you for sharing your words with us even though it may not be easy. baby gavin and your other boys are very fortunate to have a mom like you.
Natalie, you are wonderwoman. Just sent my best to Sara.
Wow. I just read Sara's story and the tears just keep flowing. I truly hope she does not join our grief and pray for her miracle. I know the bargaining...pleading...begging. Thanks for posting about her.
Just left Sara some prayers. Thank you for your compassion and love for others when you need it too. Your family is still in my thoughts and prayers.
LOOK! You and Gavin might just be pulling off another miracle! Look how many people came to follow you b/c of your situation, and you can take that lead and send the prayers on to another who needs it!
Love you!
And What do I eat b/4 bed??? Good question. But I do usually check your blog before signing off for the night ;)
Dear Natalie,
What you are doing with your blog is so powerful. I feel through your words the power of the everlasting atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. You are a great tool in our Heavenly Fathers plan, I wouldn't be suprised at how many seeds have been planted into other peoples hearts to have faith that He Will in all of His Glory return again, and it will be soon. We will rise up on the morning of the first resurrection and because of the Hope you have in that great sacrifice you and your sweet sweet baby will stand with HIM the author and finisher of our Faith. You are so moved by the spirit. All I can do is say thank you.
You give me courage to fight for what I fought for in the pre-existance, to have a mortal experience, have a body, a family, and be like and with our Heavenly Father again. I know I fought for that. I feel it through your words.
In D&C it says
Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been aafflicted shall work together for your bgood, and to my name’s glory, saith the Lord.
Thanks again. I hope someday in person I can thank you, you truly are a rock and a light.
Brooke Pehrson
Blanding Utah
I am joining you in prayer for Sara and her baby Bronson.
I'm overcome with emotion again, like I was when I read of your story. I'm back on my knees, praying this time for Sara and her family. For little Bronson. God is good; we know that. I pray that Sara and her family can feel and believe it. God bless YOU and YOUR family too, for in the midst of everything, to so openly and eloquently pray for and love another family who needs it. My prayers continue for you too.
It's crazy to be reading a blog from someone in Hawaii, to find out about someone right around the corner from me. Someone I keep in touch with every so often, run into at the gym or the grocery store. Thank you for sharing this on your blog and asking for prayers for their family. When I linked to Sara's blog from yours and saw the header I knew who it was and... I froze. Immediately said a prayer, continued on to read about the accident, and prayed, prayed hard. Thank you for thinking of others even during this hard time in YOUR life.
I hope you got my email, I'm not excepting a response anytime soon, you have plenty to think about.
I just wanted to thank you for sharing the story of your family, and also the story of others. I have always found it hard to share my beliefs openly as I feared how it would come accross. You share your love for the Savior beautifully and it encourages others to be more open as well. I love reading your blog. From an experience with a friend, I know losing a child is one of the hardest trials one can experience. I hope as the days go on that you continue to be filled with hope and peace. Your testimony is wonderful, it is inspiring, and it is something that I really really needed :)
Praying for little Bronson and his family
Oh Nat, Thank you for passing on the word. Praying praying praying!!!
Natalie - I came across your blog via Rachel Thurston's blog. That was just days after another friend's baby boy was accidentally smothered by pillows after being laid down for a nap on his grandparents' bed on Christmas Day. That family lives just down the street and in the same ward (my parents' ward - and my ward until I moved last May) as the Staker family. We've been following their situation since we first heard on Saturday afternoon.
To hear of sweet Gavin's passing along with these other tragedies has been just beyond heart-wrenching. But words truly cannot express how much your faith has made a difference in my life. I just want you to know that if no other good thing has come of this Gethsemane experience you are passing through, that my faith has been strengthened immeasurably.
Though we have never met, I have so much admiration and love for you. I want you to know that we continue to pray for you as well as for the Stakers. It all sounds so trite right now, but I hope you will know and feel the love despite my inability to convey the depth of my feeling.
You are a blessing. Still praying for you, and praying for Sara and her baby.
Thank you for your unselfishness in your time of need, you inspire so many people to think a little more of others and the world beyond our immediate life circle.
You spread the power of prayer and love around the globe and back again.
We pray for Sara and baby Bronson.
Please god protect them and strengthen them and continue to give faith and love to your family. x
hey natalie,
Nice to drop by again here in your blog.
I haven't checked the twitter accounts that I'm following 'til today and I saw your status update. Thanks for letting us know!
I just read Sara's blog and left a comment to her latest entry. I told her I would be praying for her and her everyday.
Your faith and Sara's amazes me. My heart poured out for you with Gavin, and now I am pouring my heart out for Sara... at the same time, I will cherish every moment I have with my little baby boy a lot more than I've had... Your (you and Sara's) life's stories makes me wanna give my little one a big hug right now--but it's 2am and he's asleep..
Much love,
Lois Sparks
I am so sorry that Gavin's time on Earth has passed. I have prayed for your family for a long time now. Just know that a lot of people love you and are thinking of you and wish they could comfort you and bring you peace. I am so sorry for your loss. I know that you will see him again someday though. He was a precious spirit that didn't need the pains of mortal life to refine him ... he was and is perfect.
My prayers and love,
~Hailey
It truly is a small world. I don't know you. But I found your blog through Stephanie Robertson who is my sister in law's sister. Stephanie has always inspired me to be a better person. After reading your blog, you inspire me, also. And then I linked over to Sara's blog and my heart just breaks for you and for her. And then I learned that my brother works with Matt. Here I am in Japan, reading blogs from Hawaii and it circles right back to home to somebody that I don't know personally, but knowing of them, and that my brother knows what an awesome family they are makes it even more heart wrenching. I was sobbing as I read Sara's story. And I am praying. Oh how I am praying for them, and for you!
Thank you so much for sharing and uniting THE WORLD in prayer for this family. Miracles do happen. You are inspiring in your faith and love.
May God bless you and the Staker family. Lots of love and hugs to all of you!
Alicia
You are awesome Natalie...just visited Sara's blog and a thousand tears later I just want to thank you for being there for others and enlightening so many.
Maren,
Your comment was incredibly touching to me. Thank you!
N
I just wanted to tell you how much of an inspiration you are to me. Because of you I always remember to pray for those in need and make sure to hug, hold, and cuddle with my son and truly appreciate every moment I have with him. You're writing is so beautiful and uplifting. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and experiences with the world. I know they bring so much comfort to those in need.
my sons name is Bronson and he's nine months old. these stories are breaking my heart as a mother and my prayers are covered in "please help these mothers heal." how can i ask for my son to stay healthy and whole when others are not? i feel so torn. being a mother is the hardest thing in the world. and the most rewarding. thank you for opening your soul to all of the mothers out there. i am holding my blessing a little closer to me now.
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