My thanks...and a final request.

Little Zach, my friends' preemie son, passed away this evening.

My thanks to any of you who upheld him and his family in prayer over the last 21 days.

Zach had such a short little life, but it impacted people around the world.  I'm sure his parents are grateful to have had those three brief weeks with him, than to have lost him without ever meeting him.  At the same time, I'm sure they would love for Zach to have made it past this crisis, to have grown into a healthy little boy, grown up to be a strong man.

Their comfort now is their faith, knowing that their precious little boy no longer has to struggle for breath, no longer needs tubes and wires and IVs to offer him nourishment, no longer needs a quiet, dark NICU isolette to feel safe.  He is with Jesus now, and he is perfect.

Please continue to keep his parents especially in your prayers, for they'll have to find some way to explain to their four-year-old son why it is that his baby brother isn't coming home.  They have to find a way to make it in this "new normal" of their lives, going on with life when they know they have two children, but have already buried one.  It's not supposed to be that way.

His extended family is also heartbroken.  There are aunts and uncles and grandparents and cousins who never got to meet Zach, but feel his loss keenly.

So, if Ron and Wendy and their older son and family come to mind in the next few days and weeks, please say a prayer for their comfort, peace and strength.