Prelude to 2 Years

Matt and I were on our way to college early this morning. We spent some time talking about the two year mark of Gretta's death coming on the 4th of September. We reminisced about the last two years, how difficult they have been and if the things people told us would happen were true to us or not.

One of the things people said in the beginning was that the second year was worse. At the time, that didn't seem possible. Nothing could be worse than the raw wholistic pain of death and it's finality, right? Well, we agreed that nothing really was worse than that. But the second year is more difficult in some ways. Matt mentioned that he doesn't want to "do something" on the death anniversary because he would rather not "celebrate" or mark that day especially. I thought that made sense but expressed that I feared she would just dissappear without anything tangible to remember her by and that people would just forget her.

We went to class.

After my first class, which got out early today, I walked outside to see Matt on his phone waiting on me. He immediately handed me the phone and it was our dear friend Eric. He and his wife Christina had just their third child early this morning. They didn't know if it would be a boy or girl, but Christina was pretty sure it was going to be a boy. They have a little girl named Selah, who is a bit younger than Gretta would be now and a little guy named, Ian. Well, it turns out they had another little girl today and they were calling to let us know that all was well and to also ask us a question. "Our other two kids have two middle names", Eric began, "and we were wondering if we could name this little girl after Gretta. Her name would be Mattea (pronounced Matt-ay-ah) Gretta-Claire, after Gretta." (Our Gretta's middle name was Claire.)

There I was wondering if Gretta would have something tangible to be remembered by and not two hours later, God answered in a big way for us. Matt and I were speechless really. We thanked them and shared our love with them and hung up the phone.

All day today I have been smiling and tearing up and praising God for friends so sweet and dear. Friends who would remember our daughter and just two days before the two-year marked day of her death, God brought a life, so small and sweet into Eric and Christina's family and into ours. I am amazed, once again at the love that others have and continue to show for us. I am amazed once again at how God listens in to our whole life and knows our thoughts and words and longings and delivers BEYOND what we can imagine.

Yes, it's just a name, but to us, it rings sweet and beautiful and it lives on!

Thank you Lord! Thank you from deep in our hearts, Eric and Christina Villenue and may God richly bless your family and our new little addition, Mattea Gretta-Claire Villenue.