"nothing puzzles God"

i can definitely say without question that this christmas season has been unlike any other i have ever experienced. i believe God has shown me clearer than ever what christmas truly is. katie whitlow passed away early thursday morning (21st). as i prepared myself to talk to my little girl about death i grappled with the reality of death and certainity that it does not discriminate. i told harper that katie, who was 26 at the time of her death, was very sick and in pain and that Jesus said that he would take away her pain but she would have to come home with Him. she is no longer in pain. but merriwether will not be spending christmas with her mother anymore. for any of you that had the distinct joy of knowing katie then you will know that her passing was especially devastating. her life and, subsequently, her death were the ultimate testimony of faith. even in the midst of horrible pain she was continually stating that God loves her. she died as her husband and her mother watched. she left behind her mother, father, brothers and sister, aunts and uncles, grandmothers and grandfathers, a husband, and a daughter. she took with her one precious baby boy, Bascom Ancil Whitlow. i believe that her death came at a time to remind us exactly what christmas is. Jesus came to us as a baby, but more importantly he came to us to die. just as i have loved my children and each year the love i have only grows, jesus was loved by his earthly mother. mary had to stand by and watch her son be crucified. his family watched as he suffered excruciating pain. his death was monumentally devastating to his Heavenly father as well. i believe that it is so easy to forget that God sent Jesus to die. God, his father, sent his own son to die. As a mother I cannot fathom making that sacrifice. this christmas i have been reminded of the humanity of jesus and the omnipotence of God. i am reminded that our children are our most precious gifts. i pray for one ounce of the steadfastness and the ability to love that i have known...