A strong floral scent hangs in the air.  Roses and carnations in the colors of spring surround the room.  Teddy bears gaze out between the baby’s breath, and pink balloons float over a child-sized casket.  This picture should not happen.  Innocence and death do not belong together in the same room. It does not seem right for a beautiful, almost three year old girl, to be lying in such a place.  My mind cannot grasp it.  The images on the running video screen are scrapbook photos… birthday parties, trips to see Santa, and family gatherings. 

Tragedy strikes in the most unlikely places.  Little Emily would have been three years old soon, but she drifted away in her sleep before she could make it to her birthday. Somehow, when it is a child, the line between life and death seems more precarious…like a tightrope.  Isn’t that why we, as parents, try so hard to protect our little ones?    We hope to be the net that catches them when they fall. However, when the worst happens it hits home that we have no guarantees. This is where faith comes in…trusting that God knows, even when we cannot possibly understand.  There are no words to explain the grief and pain.  There are only questions.  We cling to one another and ask questions as our faith quakes around us. 

It is a wonderful thing that our God knows what it is like to lose a child.  His heart knows this horror.  His arms have ached with emptiness.  His eyes have filled with tears of grief.  He knows this kind of love that breaks hearts so deeply…so in turn, he can comfort us.  There is a blanket of peace as we turn to him in this despairing moment.  He reserves a sweetness for the brokenhearted.  He knows.  He has been there.

Emily loved heroes.  She wanted to be one like on TV.  Even at such a young age, she instinctively knew that to help people and save lives is a great thing.  To fully understand that desire is not necessary to a child.  Children just know. Emily got her wish. As she ran into the arms of Jesus, her little heart provided life to another. She became a hero.  The heart wrenching pain will remain, but there is comfort in the life she left behind.  There is peace knowing that she is, at this very moment, in the arms of Jesus.