.."weep with those who weep"

About 3 months ago some good friends of Austin and I (Abby and Zach)found out they were pregnant. Everything seemed fine and there were no signs that something was wrong until they went to the 5 month appointment to find out the sex of the baby. Abby told me she would call and tell me as soon as they found out if it were a boy or a girl. As soon as I saw her name pop up on caller ID I immediately grabbed my phone and answered by saying "Weelllll is it a girl or boy!!??" I immediately hear on the other end of the phone a sobbing cry. They had gotten some bad news at the appointment and had been told the baby only had 1 kidney and the only kidney it did have was failing and wasn't working properly-so pretty much the baby was in kidney failure on top of that there was very little amniotic fluid so that baby wasn't going to be able to grow and move the way it should. They were unable to tell the sex of the baby from any ultrasounds b/c the baby's bladder was so distended since her kidney was failing. To say that our hearts broke from them-is an understatement. We felt so helpless and didn't know what we could do or say to help. They went to Dr after Dr-specialist and specialist and they all told her the same- "I'm sorry there is nothing we can do to fix or heal your baby. If and that's a BIG if it survives the birthing process then it will die shortly after. They reassured her the baby would be in no pain. They said she had 3 options. 1. aborting the baby immediately 2. continue to carry the baby and delivery it when the time came naturally 3. inducing labor now and delivering the baby now at 20 weeks. Abby immediately told the Dr. aborting the baby was not an option for her and as hard as it would be she would continue to carry the baby until it was born even though she knew she would continue to grow in closeness, love and feel each movement. This past weekend with a broken heart I am sorry to say that at 30 weeks Abby delivered a beautiful little girl named Laina Celeste. She survived the birth and Abby and Zach were able to hold her for about an hour. She passed away while in her mother's arms and went to her Father in heaven. Abby is such an inspiration to me! These past 2 months have been a complete nightmare for them and I can't even begin to imagine what they are feeling or going through. I do know that my heart breaks and aches for them! I pray for peace, comfort, and strength for them during this time. Not only for today but for weeks, months, years to come. They have experienced what very few people will ever experience and that's losing a child. I know the hurt, anger, confusion, guilt, heart ache and pain I felt when I had a miscarriage at 8 weeks so I can't even BEGIN to imagine what she is feeling after carrying that baby for 7 months, delivering her, holding her in her arms, feeling her breathing, and seeing her heart beat. Romans 12:15 sums up my week this week. "...Weep with those who weep." I have found these verses comforting-Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.2 Corinthians 1:3-5 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. Please pray for this family with me they need our prayers right now! This is an actually picture of precious Laina's feet in her sweet little baby booties Abby sent me.