Friday, June 20, 2008

where do babies go when they die?

you know how churches down here always like to have a little quote on their sign out front... like: "God loves the man who brings his children to church rather than sending them." "We are looking for a few people who make mistakes!" "There are some questions that can't be answered by Google" "Walmart is not the only saving place" "If you think it is hot here, imagine hell" "The most powerful position is on your knees" ok, so could list these forever. just search google (haha) for church signs and you'll see more! last monday, i took kendal to the pediatrician for his 9 month checkup. thinking everything would be just fine, i didn't prepare myself for what was to come. now we all know his head measures large (although it doesn't seem large to me). this time, it was the largest yet (what i mean is that it was the furthest distance away from the "normal" curve it's been yet). the NP that we see got quite worried about it, since he also won't eat table food yet. (he doesn't put things in his mouth... including table food.) so, i suppose she worried he had his first developmental delay. she mentioned that he may need to see a eating specialist because his mouth may not be shaped right. apparently his tonsils are way far back in his throat. of coarse, by this time he was screaming, so maybe when he SCREAMS his tonsils are way far back. the NP brought in the doctor. the doctor said that at this point we need to get a CT scan to make sure he doesn't have fluid on his brain (called hydrocephalus). they have mentioned the possible need for it before, but until now, they have not said it was necessary. so, i leave the doctor thinking my kid has a water head and can't eat because his mouth is shaped funny. i went directly to mom's house, where she and kate were gonna keep kendal so i could go to my afternoon OB appt (just the 13 week checkup) sans baby. on the way there, i passed a church with one of these wonderful signs... it said "where do babies go when they die?" of coarse, it struck a "nerve" with me because of what had just happened at the ped office. oh my god! what if k died because of his big head and he couldn't eat? (i know it is not likely, but that is what my hormone filled brain started to think about...) so... i actually do not know where babies go when they die. i know what i want to believe, but i have NO idea what the bible actually says. melissa - do you know? anyone? have any scripture references? i'm interested in knowing now. not because i really think my babies are gonna die. but, i should know this anyway! ok, so i found a blog that kinda hit on what i was looking for. i do now have one more question. what if a baby was born to nonbelievers? does their baby go to heaven? what if it were an atheist? a buddhist? a devil worshiper (if there really is such a person)? where do their babies go? or, where do they THINK their babies go?

5 comments:

  1. Okay...so this isn't a topic that is AT ALL pleasant to think about. And I can have all of the 'answers' in the world, but don't know how I would react if I were put in this particular situation (and I hope to NEVER have to find out). I hope that I would act according to this belief, but also have never been tested in such a drastic way.

    But this is what I know (yes, I say know, not think -- but that is a theological debate that others can take up)... If a child dies before the so-called 'age of accountability' then they would go to heaven. This age has been debated, but the Jewish faith believes this to be 13 yrs old. I don't know when the age really is. But, I feel very confident that babies are included in the saved based on the story of David (2 Samuel 12) where David's affair with Bathsheba results in a pregnancy. God gets mad and kills the child (remember this is old testament, angry God). David grieves during the child's life (which isn't long) and then ends his grieving when the baby dies -- sounds horrible. BUT when asked, David says that he will go to his child, but his child will never come back to him. This shows that David knows that his child has gone to the place that he will eventually go to himself... to be with GOD.

    I think what you should be doing now, though, is not worrying. Trust in God that he does what is right -- even if we don't understand it at the time. Not to get too 'in your face' but I find hope in Matthew 6:34 ... "Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes"

    There is a great book (Traveling Light by Max Lucado) that talks about giving up today's worries. He says that you have to meet today's problems with today's strength. We have enough to get us through each day. We don't have tomorrow's strength yet, so don't start tackling those problems until tomorrow.

    Let the dr's run the tests. Find out what they say and deal with the results then. Everything is going to work out. DON'T worry!

    Oh... and to make a long post longer... if you are really worried, talk to a pastor. They are trained to know the answers here... to the hard questions. Plus, you might find a great church to visit in the meantime :-)
    Zeb Bapt is great!

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  2. oh... one more thing... I love those signs. They do exactly what they are intended to do - make the reader think. My favorite is "Seven days without prayer makes one weak" powerful if you think about it.

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  3. okay... i lied, one more thing...

    it is crazy how you brought this up. Rob and I just read this passage this past weekend, so I knew exactly where to go for the David/Bathsheba story. We read it because Rob wants to name a boy Samuel and I want David... either way, quite a coincidence :-)

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  4. Although I'm not a huge fan of organized religion (any), I do have faith and spirituality. I'm a firm believer in doing what is right, telling the truth, being a good person (hmmm...the church of what my parents taught me? None of them are highly religious themselves).

    Anyway, I do know this. Wherever it is that "good people" go when they die includes ANY good person, whether they believe in God or religion or whatever. Babies obviously fall into this, because, until they have the chance to become bad, they are nothing but good personified.

    Keep us posted, but, I'm with Melissa, it will ALL be ok.

    That head just holds a lot of brains!

    Love ya.

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  5. so i'm going to attempt to go to church sunday in louisburg if you want to go with me. Kendal and Faniel can go to mom's. I'm sure they have a nursery but i doubt it is like Faith or Zebulon's nursery.

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