Below is from Grace Oughton's CarePage. Her father wrote it and I wanted to share with those of you know as well. Many of our friends suffered a loss of a child/sister/friend/daughter/son/husband this past year. Then there are some of you with little ones still fighting the fight as we speak. His words are so profound and fill my heart with saddness and hope all at the same time.
"Dear Friends,
This site has been silent for a while now. It pales in comparison to the deafening silence that now fills our home...like a concert when the music stops, we long for an encore. The day that Grace Lindsay died, so much of what was musical and beautiful in our lives ceased to exist. The "music" died. For so long Crystal and I wished only that she would be at peace...be through suffering. We were sure that we were stronger than her and that we would be "okay" if she were healed in the arms of God. Now I am not so sure. I think she was the stronger one. I think this because now we are here without her...weak, frail, and longing for healing. We would gladly give all that we have and all that we are to see her fighting again, inspiring and giving hope to so many, including us. We want hope back, but we really want her back. It is ridiculous, of course, to ask for that. Not only because it is impossible, but because, if possible, our princess would not ever want to leave a place of such peace and perfection to return to an earth filled with pain and sorrow....even to be with us. So, we don't ask for that. We simply ask for peace and wisdom, neither of which has come to us from a burning bush or lightning bolt yet....but we are still hoping. We must share, though, that we have found peace in the fact that we are confident God does not give kids cancer. We do not believe that Grace, or Lilly, or Chloe, or Sydney, or Marissa, or Codey, or Kai, or Jack, or Shannon, or Gustavo, or Max, or Kieran, or Zach, or Cooper, or Elliot, or Leo, or Paris are "given" cancer. We do not believe that their pain and suffering is all part of some celestial chess match...that God afflicts these beautiful, strong children with a devastating disease, that tortures them and tears apart their family, to accomplish some greater goal. We believe that God weeps when these random cells choose death over life and pain over peace, just as he weeps when unstable people murder innocent families, or mistreated dogs maul grandmothers. We know in our hearts that God does not make those terrible things happen. He is a loving God whose heart aches with us as we suffer the pain that goes along with the freedom to choose. The freedom to choose right from wrong, to love or to turn our backs, to praise or to persecute. The freedom to love and worship Him, not because we have to, but because we want to. Does this mean that, because it isn’t part of God’s master plan, no good can come from Grace's death? Absolutely not. In fact, that is where we see God. We see him in the hearts, minds and souls of people who choose to open their doors, arms, and wallets to help these kids. We see his hand in the dedication of parents who choose to try and conquer a disease that has taken the life of their baby. We choose, and we are committed, to make something good come from the death of our daughter, because we refuse to let her die for nothing… and we long to see a bright light, where it is now dark. We pray for peace for you, our friends entrenched in battle. We don’t write this because we wish to “preach”. We just don’t want you to feel distant from Him… we have been there. Know that God loves you, he weeps with you, and he certainly did not do this to your children.
Truly, The Oughtons"
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