A MOTHER'S TIMELESS LOVE

Jean Echlin (85)

A LETTER TO MY BABY

MY BELOVED INFANT SON:

Jean Echlin

You were born sixty years ago.

In all the intervening time, I have never forgotten

the essence of your little being.

You were a beautiful, blond baby boy,

weighing into this world

at eight pounds, fourteen ounces.

Your cheeks had delightful dimples

when you smiled,

and I thank God that I saw your smile!

Your eyes were so blue

they were almost violet.

When you studied my face,

it seemed to me

I had a glimpse of eternity.

Your hair was very blond and so long

it touched your shoulders.

You were called the “straw hat” baby in the nursery

-just like the sister and brothers who followed you.

You had your dad’s broad shoulders and chest.

You would have had a marvelous build---

except you would not have been able to stand tall

or walk, had you lived.

Your cry was deep and heart wrenching.

It came from your soul

and your distress.

You were so loved and wanted.

But your little life was not to last for long.

Your spine had a cruel flaw.

The bones protecting your spinal cord

had not closed

as God was “knitting together”

your wee body in my womb.

The medical diagnosis was

spina bifida with meningomyelocele.

Big, cold sounding words

for an infant’s delicate body.

Worse it was labeled inoperable

by the best neurosurgeons in

North America.

Your body became tortured when you eventually

developed meningitis.

You had so many seizures every day

and there seemed so little to comfort you

except holding you

and loving you.

Tears and prayers were constant.

While I prayed for a miracle,

I knew deep in my heart

this would not be.

Your tiny, innocent spirit

returned to God

Who gave it.

Your adorable, little body

returned to the earth

from which it was formed.

But, little one,

God sent you with a special message

straight from His heart.

Your small person and short life

taught me my life’s mission.

You showed us all the amazing strength

of strong family ties, unity and support.

You let me see the bald, haggard face

of a mother’s grief that lasts in many ways

for a lifetime.

You taught me the horror of death

without needed relief from suffering.

You showed me the finality of life

when the last small tears

were squeezed from your eyes.

You let me see a peace and beauty

that transcends mortality,

as you lay in your tiny white coffin.

A strange tranquility settled over

my aching soul

as I thought of you

walking straight and tall

in Christ’s Kingdom.

You will have no more pain or tears.

You will no longer be paralyzed!

I do not remember them

putting your casket in the ground.

Perhaps I was spared that memory.

I do recall vividly,

covering your precious little body with a

white, satin-bound blanket,

when I was asked to do so,

before they closed the lid

that would seal you physically

and forever from your

grieving mother.

Thomas Andrew Echlin, my beloved baby son,

I believe with all my heart and soul

that we will meet again in God’s eternity.

Your life and your death set me on a path

that has fulfilled a large part

of my destiny.

God gave you to me for awhile,

and I shall never forget

you or your message.

You told me to help the frail, the weak, the sick and the dying.

You told me to do everything possible

to ease the pain and suffering of

God’s hurting children.

The Lord Himself enabled me

to hear your message---

to find a meaning in the awful suffering

of a tiny baby.

Your few weeks on this earth were like being

kissed by an angel

—a fragile breath that blessed my life

for all time.

I hold you in my heart, precious baby.

Your sweet memory will always be

part of my life

while I am in this world.

My greatest comfort is that your innocence

was spared all the evil of living,

and you are safe in the Paradise

we are promised.

Love through all Eternity

Your Mother.

D. Jean Andrews Echlin