Amazing Grace

Last week we were given the heartbreaking news of the loss of Henry, the 10 month old son of my dear childhood friend, Jane and her husband, Carrington. My family and friends were shocked.

Having spent most of his life in the MUSC hospital, this mighty little boy had defied all odds, and with the miracle of a new heart he finally came home with his family to Charlotte. We were eager to see him grow and flourish, and having followed every moment of his journey (from the time we first learned of his condition many months before birth) we knew that his life was fragile. But we never gave up hope that he would one day grow up to play sports, or be a mischievous teenager who snuck out on Friday nights...and we imagined one day telling him stories of the times when he made our hearts stop, when we anxiously opened up Caringbridge to learn about his condition, sometimes on an hourly basis. Those were days he wouldn't remember, but we always will.

Sadly it was Henry's heart that stopped this time. His life was much too short, but in the words of his mother, it was a perfect little life. He was surrounded by love and prayers and he stole the hearts of all who "knew" him. Thanks to the photos and eloquent words that Jane posted daily, we all did know him, and we all loved him.

I was looking forward to one day asking Henry what it felt like to be a miracle boy. Having seen that precious face, I knew he would be a heartthrob and little girls like my daughter would look at him with starry eyes. And knowing what he had already been through and that he would experience more hardships in the future, I felt certain that we would call him our "hero".

But today it is Henry's mother who is my hero. As a mother myself, I cannot even begin to imagine the sadness and the hole in her heart that she is left with. Henry's sister, Loulie, will keep her smiling; her wonderful, loving husband will keep her grounded, and the support from her family and friends will keep her strong. But I think to be able to walk this journey with such amazing grace is something that one must have within.

With grace is how Jane has carried herself from the day she learned of Henry's heart defect to the day she said goodbye. Her positive attitude, her strong faith and her outlook on life is inspiring. I think grace is the perfect way to describe it.

What a lovely word. I found several definitions for grace that I found quite fitting for Jane.
1: a virtue coming from God
2 : a pleasing or attractive quality or endowment
3 : ease and suppleness of movement or bearing
4 : unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification (I might need a dictionary for this one!)
And a few of my favorite synonyms:
Poise.....Self-assurance.....Fluidity.....LOVE.

Thank you, sweet Henry, for bringing me and many others closer to God. And thank you, Jane, for showing us what true grace is all about.

"How you climb up the mountain is just as important as how you get down the mountain. And so it is with life, which for many of us becomes one gigantic test followed by one gigantic lesson. In the end, it all comes down to one word. Grace. It's how you accept winning and losing, good and bad, the darkness and the light." -- author unknown