Preparing for the memorial

Dear friends and family,

Here we are, trying to readjust to a normal life. For the most part we do well, always remembering to put one foot in front of the other. Then there are times, the quiet times, where something has built up and we get very sad missing our sweet little Madeline so much. I find myself worrying about all the things I didn’t get to do for her as a dad, teach her to read, tell her jokes, take her dancing, walk her down the aisle.

There are still awkward moments when someone who knows Madeline but not of her passing makes a comment wondering how she’s doing. At those times I find myself unable to speak, but my silence quickly reveals to them what has happened. One such moment was when I went next door to the print shop. I hadn’t realized they knew Madeline, so when I showed up with a copy of the memorial bulletin to get a proof the owner just lost it. I am constantly amazed by the far reaching story of our little girl.

The memorial is coming up this Monday morning at 10am at Greenwood Community Church and I really hope that a lot of you can make it. We’re scrambling to make final preparations and decide what should be said and what shouldn’t. For us it’s important to mark Madeline’s short life on earth and have as many witnesses as possible to her life and the work which God has done through her.

Thank you all so much for your cards, emails, facebook posts. It’s reassuring to know that whenever we need encouraging, we can always walk to the mailbox or check email for some. Please keep it coming because it means so much to us. We love hearing about how Madeline’s life and story has reached you and affected you.

Thank you also for your generous gifts to Madeline. We are making sure that the right funds get to the CHD Foundation and the mark has already been reached for Madeline’s name to be memorialized at the hospital (YEAH!). We are still figuring out how to best use the other funds to help families – so many questions and so many logistics. We really desire to be good stewards of that money and use it in the best possible way to support as many families as possible.

Please keep praying for us as we readjust to life. Pray for the upcoming memorial service, that it will be honoring to Madeline and glorifying to God. Pray for wisdom and help with our involvement in supporting families in need, as they bear under the weight that we are still so familiar with. Pray that we will be able to help many other families with what we have received. Thank you all so much again.

Grace,

Shanker & Lisa.