Last week, with the help of my blog community, I posted a number of resources to help Christians passing through the trial of miscarriage or the loss of a child.

Henk Kleyn, our Registrar at Puritan Reformed Seminary, sent me a beautiful meditation he penned when his family faced the sorrow of miscarriage. You can read the moving four-page account here (for non-Dutchies, Opa is Grandfather and Oma is Grandmother!). This is how Henk begins his story:

The family first heard about Malachi at his daddy’s 27th birthday party.  No one knew his name then.  No one knew his gender.  God knew everything.  He had a special plan for this new grandchild in our family.

We heard the good news of Kimberly’s pregnancy when Stephen unwrapped a present that contained a baby outfit.  We were told that we would meet our  new grandchild some time in October.  We praised the Lord together.  Ever since that wonderful evening we included this baby in our family prayers.  We had a new member in the family.  A soul had been created for God’s honor and we were privileged to pray for him.

Everything seemed to be going fine for both Malachi and Kimberly.  We were glad to hear of his rapid heart beat with the regular doctor’s visits.  Kimberly looked well and we all expected a healthy full term baby in due time.  We praised the Lord for the miracle of a beating heart in our grandchild.

It was Thursday, May 8, 2003, that we first heard that life had left little Malachi.  He had lived in Kimberly’s womb for seventeen weeks.  The doctor could not detect a heartbeat.  A subsequent ultra sound confirmed the sad truth that our grandchild’s earthly life had ended. We visited Kimberly and Stephen and tried to console them with hugs, prayer and Scripture.  God has sent a trial.  He provoked many questions in our minds.  We received the grace of submission but the pain of grief was and remains a hard reality for us.  Our prayers changed.  We pleaded for the grace of comfort and that Kimberly’s life would not be threatened….

Read the rest of the story.