When Ethan and Nathan were born and I saw their little faces, I lit up with joy. Joy because they were alive. Joy because their warmth brought me comfort. Joy to be beside my husband, holding them nestled between our arms. Utter joy. What many do not know is that aside from my boys being conjoined, my Nathan also had a cleft lip. I have heard many people speak displeasingly of this deformity of the lip, but when I looked at Nathan, I felt joy and I saw beauty. I would even go as far as to say that the cleft gave him a little character. There was obviously no need for surgery because of his demise, but in my eyes he was perfect. He was made in the image of God. His Creator knit him perfectly for me. I know it sounds paradoxical because they were conjoined (an obvious developmental abnormality) and Nathan had a cleft (a facial abnormality), but all the same they were God's children and made in His image. I remember every little thing about the beauty of each of them. Nathan's c
Thoughts on loss, healing, and hope for the future.