devestation

I learned last night that good friends and colleagues of mine who were expecting twins lost the baby girl in utero. The mom will have to carry her along with her brother until the boy is ready to be delivered. I can. not. imagine.
I myself have been feeling so off-kilter after this news. Perhaps it is because I'm carrying a healthy baby girl. Perhaps it is simply the bond of motherhood. But whatever it is, I too am keenly feeling this loss. Tears pop up at unexpected moments. I pray constantly for them, wondering what they must be going through, losing one--sadly, due to the life of the other. Doctors say they think the boy was just taking all the nutrients and the girl couldn't thrive.
I think that would probably be the hardest thing if this were me. I think I might always have some small feelings of blame toward the surviving child. But again, I've not been in that situation, so I can't say for sure. How difficult it must be to walk in and see two of everything... to see the blue next to the pink...
These friends are a part of my Tuesday lectionary group. For obvious reasons, we're not having that today. I will instead be holding a prayer vigil during our normal meeting time. If you are so inclined, between 1:30 and 3 p.m. EST you can join me in prayer for them. I will not name them for privacy, but God will know.

Old Friends and New Additions

I got a phone call, just out of the blue today, from the woman who is probably my closest and dearest friend from seminary. It was so good to hear from her. She took her first call way out in the Wild West Wilderness and it's been hard to keep in touch. She has a daughter about 5 months younger than L, so that keeps her busy too. But we talked for probably and hour and a half today. It was so nice to hear from her, though it made me acutely aware of how much I miss her. I was very emotional when I hung up the phone. It turns out she's taking another call, though it's really not any closer to us, just a different far away place.
On the other hand, it inspired me to call another dear seminary couple only to find out that they've recently had a baby girl-their first child. You can find out about more about her at Concrete Wilderness. I had to teasingly berate them for not letting us know about this momentous occasion. I couldn't believe we hadn't talked in over 9 months to know about that!!
It was so nice to catch up. None of us are very good at keeping in touch. This was just what I needed in the midst of the frustration of call searching. Praise God for such wonderful friends!