One year ago, Day 28 was coming to an end. Justice Perry had received his angel wings and I was broken. Heart broken. Broken in spirit. Broken. But God had a plan...and plenty of glue to put the pieces of me back together!
A couple of weeks after Justice passed away, I had the honor of meeting Troy & Sara, who I now know are two of the most impressive people on earth. And today, I had the honor of celebrating Day 28 with the Perrys at a balloon release for Justice.
Looking back on the past year, I can see God's hand in how far I've come. There are people who couldn't understand how this little baby and his parents - people I didn't know - could have such a profound, eternal impact on my life. But God knows which buttons to push. Honestly, I figured I was too far gone for God to even worry about. I was too self-consumed, too concerned with the shiny emptiness of this world to even consider eternity.
There's a quote that says, "If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back."
And so here I was a year ago, watching a family who had just lost their baby, yet were somehow praising and thanking God. At that point, I knew I HAD to meet them and see just what it was that propelled them. I had to see for myself because I knew whatever it was, I didn't have it for myself - but I wanted it.
Because of Sara and Troy (and an invitation from my sweet friend Heather) I visited Epic Church and the Big Guy revealed himself to me in a way I'd never known. Long story short, I found my place. And I finally learned that God's grace is sufficient, even for me. On May 5th of this year, Troy stood next to me as I was baptized...he'll never know how much it meant to me to have him there by my side.
Because of Sara and Troy's willingness to be bold for God and share Justice's story, I am whole. My family is whole. My husband and children have the wife and mother they deserve and that God intended for me to be.
So we gathered today at Justice's beautiful resting place and the Perrys were surrounded by people who love them. We released balloons to Heaven in memory of one sweet baby and smiled through some tears because we know we are forever changed by 28 Days.
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