Tuesday, October 17, 2006

My friend Trish


Please pray for my sweet friend, Tricia. She is, (quite obviously) nearing the end of her pregnancy with a precious, much longed-for little boy. She is having a scheduled C-section on Monday, October 23rd, because this pregnancy is high risk.

Two years ago, on October 21st, she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, Braden. She was overdue, and in the process of labor, her uterus tore, and Braden was severely brain damaged. He was precious and whole and darling, but he lived only one week because of the brain damage. Trish and Joe (her husband) have been an unbelievable testimony to all who know them of God's grace and lovingkindness through loss. I can actually say that a revival of sorts broke out at this time, at least for me, and the children I minister to (including Trish's other kids).

Now she is a walking testimony that we serve a God of miracles! Everyone who sees Trish's
halarious tummy is once again reminded of what they lost, and how God has changed the way we see Him, and life, and everything pertaining to it. (I recommend the book: A Path Through Suffering by Elisabeth Elliot which I was reading at the time).

Please pray for these important last few days! I am crying out to God on her child's behalf, that for His Name's sake, He will safely bring this child into the world. It is no accident, in fact, an unbelievable miracle that this little boy will be born between the date that Braden was born, and Braden died. It is because of Braden, in fact, that this child has life! Please pray that Trish and her family might stand before God with their hands open, ready to let God give and take away, and through it all, be able to say "Blessed be His name!"

7 comments:

Donette said...

I will indeed pray. I understand a bit of the fear, as this last pregnancy was high risk for me. We lost our baby girl last July when I was 6 months pregnant. I had to give birth to her, and got a chance to hold her still body and we named her and buried her. I'll never forget the grief that overwhelmed me and the fear that threatened to consume me when we got pregnant again only 3 months later. But I also know the extreme grace that God provided us in our time of need and how our dependance on Him grew through the trial, to the point where I could actually thank him for the 6 months of life that our little Donette had, even though we didn't meet her until it had ended. So I will indeed pray.

Gretchen said...

Thanks, Donette! I appreciate you sharing your story. I cannot imagine what that must be like, but I am not foolish enough to say "I could never make it through that" because I know that God's grace is so huge and wide and unbelievable that He makes everything possible.

The Murray Crew said...

We will also be praying for your friend. Be sure to post as soon as Trish delivers what we pray to be a healthy baby!

By the way, your husband's blog was actually what got me started on blogspot. We had a friend do a blog on their ministry site when her husband was diagnosed with cancer. This kept folks up to date on what to be praying for and such. So, after seeing your husbands site, I decided blogspot would work for us.

Anyway, thanks for the comments!

Sandy said...

We love Joe and Trish! They have been used of God in a mighty way in our lives. I am definitely praying for them.

Sarah said...

I will pray for her....pregnancy is such a blessing, and even more so when it is a "miracle" one! Praying she will have a beautiful and healthy baby. She looks adorable in spite of how far along she is! :-)

Gretchen said...

Thanks, everybody, for praying! Trish was so honored that people she didn't even know were praying for her.

I am in tears as type this -- Trish had her healthy little boy around noon today! His name is Gavin Braden, and he was almost 7 pounds, and 19 inches long!

Our God does indeed do miracles! :)

The Murray Crew said...

Gretchen,

Thanks for reading the blog, we are hoping that this can be a chronicle to help us remember how faithful God was to us when this is all over.

Jaimie's last name is Zetterberg, her husbands name is Tony. You can call us to get her number if you like, or send me your e-mail address.