Johnathan's Passing

Sunday, May 27, 2007

One week ago, Sunday night, our 18-month old son Johnathan stopped breathing in his sleep, and passed on to be with God in heaven. He'd had a normal day, and enjoyed his dinner and bath as usual. The last few weeks saw progress in his development, and he appeared to be moving past the breathing issues that had plagued his short life. God called him home to heaven, instead of Johnathan coming home with us. A full autopsy revealed no issues, and his death was determined to be caused by SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome), even as old as he was.

Johnathan's foster family in Oregon has loved and cared for him like their own grandson, and had been looking forward to his imminent transfer home with us. They immediately called EMS, but nothing more could be done. We were called on Monday with the news, and we flew out as soon as we could catch a flight (on the week before Memorial Day, that took a couple days).

We got to spend a couple days with Johnathan's wonderful foster parents, and shared stories and tears together. We were able to bring Victoria with us, who brought lots of necessary smiles to everybody's hearts! The funeral was held on Friday, May 25^th. It was heartbreaking to see such a small coffin and such a little body lying so still and lifeless. It's hard to understand how something like this can be God's will, but it is, and we accept that, however sorrowfully.

The wonderful part about the funeral was how many people were there that had been touched by Johnathan's short life. Dozens of family members, social workers, early intervention staff, and many others who had been with and loved him. We are heartbroken to have him gone, but his life was not in vain. We put together some pictures from the foster family, along with some music and words from his primary social worker, which you can watch if you like:

Several families stepped in to care for the kids while David, Krista, and Victoria travelled, and their sacrifice is much appreciated!

4 Comments

• Dave Barba: David and Krista, So very sorry to hear of your loss. I suspect your pain is something I have never experienced - a hurt that is unique to parents who lose a living child. We lost our first son in 1976 when he was 6 months developed in the womb. We look forward to seeing him in heaven. You folks have a vital ministry with children, so I expect God will give you special grace to press on and enjoy your family. Greet our friends at Bethany Hills. Pray for me on Memorial Day as I make the Phones video. Press on! Dave Barba (commented on 5/27/2007 11:02:16 PM)
• Bernadette & David: My heart aches for all involved. We have a 10 month old foster baby that we are working to adopt. We brought her home from the hospital when she was three days old. All the legal hurdles are cleared, we just have to get through the adoption process. I have worried much about our baby suffering the same fate since she was the 3rd child of a teen mother. I have slept much better since we bought this and hope someone else might benefit from it: Angelcare Movement Sensor w. Sound Monitor. I know it works because the alarm goes off if I forget to turn it off when I take her out of the crib. It has bought us much needed sleep. I wish you the peace of understanding. You are in my thoughts. (commented on 5/29/2007 9:33:20 AM)
• Britt Stratton: David and Krista, you are in our thoughts and prayers. We are weeping because we know you are weeping, and we pray that the Lord will comfort you as you grieve Jonathan's loss. I can't help but think that it pleased the heart of God for you to pray and love Jonathan as his parents even though you were never able to bring him into your home. Our lives are not long, but sorrow and pain are very real, He will bring joy again to you and one day when we are with Him there will only be joy! As I was looking at the pictures of Jonathan, I thought that God truly blessed the lives that he touched....it is so good to know his life was not a waste, but brought joy to others and his life brought and will continue to bring glory to his Creator. (commented on 5/31/2007 10:24:29 PM)
• Traci: I am so sorry. I prayed for him often and wondered how he was doing. Although I never had the privilege of meeting him I felt a connection even before his bio. mom gave birth to him. I am so sad and sorry. I knew he was a special boy. So much so Jesus wanted him home with HIM.Please give the kids hugs from us. We love you all very much. (commented on 6/1/2007 12:07:34 AM)

Comments are closed for this article.