Honoring Lael

On December 18th, we had a small burial service for Lael. It was intimate and very special. We told only family as we wanted it to be as intimate as possible.

Above is a photo our nurse took of Lael's little feet. We passed a copy of it to all of our family. At 20 weeks gestation, Lael was so much a precious baby. To think that one might believe that our baby was only a "fetus, made up of a ball of tissue and such" is indescribable in my heart.

MyLove performed the service and prayed. He did such a beautiful job honoring our Lael and the Maker of Lael, our Lord. I am so proud of him. No one could have done a better job. We were asked who we wanted to perform the service and it was immediate and clear that MyLove was the one. Our hope is in the Lord and MyLove knew Lael more than anyone other than myself. Who better to honor her that her own father? It was difficult to do, and he cried, but he was able to do it beautifully.




After the service, the boys wanted to see Lael's body be buried. It was very good for them. They got to spread dirt while they buried her and it ministered to their hearts. We believe that it really helped with closure and their grieving process.





This is her actual casket. It was so tiny. Lael was buried in my favorite Nursing Cloak, my first cherry blossom Cloak. The funeral home provided the bear and flowers.



This is the speech and prayer that MyLove prepared and read at the burial service:

In His holy word he said, and of Lael he says:
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. – Psalm 139:13-14a

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. – Psalm 116:15

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” –Matthew 19:14.

Thank you for joining us today as we honor the life and death of our precious daughter, Lael. Lael Ford, our precious little princess, who died just short of 20 weeks in the safe confines of My Love’s womb, is now rejoicing as she sees the FACE of her Creator, Jesus Christ. She is now in God’s possession and belongs to him. This is why we named her Lael, because it is Hebrew for “belonging to God”.

When we held her warm body in our arms at the birth, we beheld her face, touched her body, and smelled her. We only wish we could have known her, played, danced, sang, and held her as a living child. But we know with certainty that her body is not her. She is not here. She is her soul, and she is with Jesus in a perfect state of peace, joy and love, surrounded by her fellow brothers and sisters in Christ- from the apostles, King David, Moses, Elijah, to Lazarus, the Syrophoenician woman, and the woman who was healed from bleeding- they are all there rejoicing with her. And we know that we will meet her and know her when we join her in Jesus’ presence. We desire to honor her now in this burial to show her, everyone here, and God how much we love her and value her. She is being buried with both sets of my grandparents and at the foot of my Dad’s mother, on this plot my Dad has so generously given for her. Within her casket, she is wrapped in MyLove’s favorite nursing cloak, which she hand-made, with beautiful cherry blossom fabric. It’s the one she was going to use to nurse Lael.

Lael will always be part of our family, and will always be remembered as our 4th child.

Please join me as I pray to the God who is with Lael right now:
Father God, we thank you for our little princess, Lael, and for the certainty that she is right there with you at this moment. Thank you she is safe and loved by her truest Father- YOU. Aid us in our attempts to honor her in this lifetime. We ask that you would heal her Mommy’s and my broken hearts and give us strength to carry on. And may her little life and death in this world bring you glory and change our hearts to live more fully for you and bring you glory. Thank you for always wielding your great power and wisdom by the hand of your lovingkindness for our best- not to harm us but to ultimately help us and shape us into the likeness of your beloved Son, whom we worship. May we be so familiar with worshiping you that it would not be an unfamiliar act at that moment when we enter your presence for eternity. We approach you in the name of Jesus Christ, the Word who became flesh, that great humbling he volunteered for on our behalf, which is what Christmas is all about. Amen.