"Baby Girl" Balloons Take to the Sky--When You Give Back Something Precious

Last week, a friend's family gave a baby girl back to the God who made her.

A grandmother sent me pictures of the little service in the freezing cold weather, with just family and a few relatives, friends, and pastor all bundled up in many layers of coats and mittens and snow pants. It was at a snowy cemetery, at a special plot donated and designated for babies at no charge to the parents--in a special respect and love for the smallest and most innocent and helpless.

With the  mother's permission, I am sharing that sweet photo.
Each of the brothers and sisters were given a "baby girl" balloon to release into the sky at the end of the little service.

I sat there looking and looking at the pictures of the parents and the children and the sweet baby balloons.

 I couldn't seem to stop looking and looking as I could just see those colorful, shiny, pink balloons rising up and up till they disappeared into the blue, blue sky.

There was no bitterness on the faces of the parents or children.
There had been heads bowed in prayer, verses of Scripture read by a pastor standing in long black overcoat and uncovered head, and other simple ceremony, I'm sure.
And then the balloons had been released--just like our hearts sometimes must release something precious to us.

 It isn't as hard to release something bad, or ugly, or wrong--to the Lord.
You know you really shouldn't be hanging onto it anyway.
But when you must give up something good--something precious--something right--
that is another story.
When you must give up God's own gift--that is different.

When you must give back the baby girl--the baby girl God created--that you hoped to embrace--
when you must surrender a beloved spouse or child or other loved one that God gave you,
when you must surrender a place or position,
when you must give back your best dreams, the call to missions or ministry perhaps,
that God Himself gave you,
that is a difficult thing.

Lord, when You give something precious, and then take it away, though there may be tears and many hours perhaps of question and grief, may there be no bitterness on our part.
Through the pain, teach us that Your ways are best, and that we can trust Your heart toward us in all these griefs and mysteries.

Don't let our hearts be troubled, but prepare us for the mansion that awaits us in those heavens toward which the balloons were lifted.

Your ways are above our ways, Lord.
Help us, when we do not understand Your hand, still to trust Your heart.
Here, Lord, is my precious thing--that thing that has mysteriously been taken away from me.
Like the balloons rising silently, submissively in the wafts of breeze, toward the heavens that gave life to the baby girl and now give her eternal life,
our hearts give back to You all that You first gave us.