Comfort

More and more people are being touched by Kristen's life everyday! The comment was made in the hospital "to think she was only here three days" and I replied - that's all Jesus needed to change history! :) She may not change history in the grand scheme of things, but she sure is making an impact! That's my girl!
I wanted to share this with anyone that hears of Kristen either because you personally know us or not. I shared it with our "support staff" and hope that this might be of some encouragement to you as well. This is hard for everyone, even strangers that have found our blog. Death is always hard, but the death of a baby is just wrong. So I hope that as you hear about Kristen and you are saddened for us, that you will also know the kind of comfort we are receiving at the same time through an amazing savior!
I remember getting this scripture in college during a really hard struggle - funny, at the time my life felt like it was over, and now I can't even remember what it was about!! - and it gave me comfort knowing that measure for measure, God's comfort would come and outweigh the trouble and sorrow.
The picture I got is a package is being delivered to our door and it has "crappy circumstances" written on the front. But right behind that deliver boy is the Verizon network crowd from the commercials and each one is carrying a box of God's comfort and healing and God is asking "can you hear me know?". But to get the comfort of that crowd and what's in their boxes, we have to receive the delivery of the box of crap. (notice I didn't say accept, just receive!! And unfortunately, he has orders to leave it on the porch if no one answers the door!)

My hope is that ANYONE that has been been touched by something related to this box of crap, may get a box (or two!) of comfort. We have no idea how many people are involved and supporting us out there so I figured posting this on our blog would hopefully get to as many people as possible!

Thank you everyone for your help and support through these crappy times and the ones we know are yet to come! Please take care of yourselves and get the help and comfort you need as you are doing that for us.
Love,
Tara (and Kevin)

I love these three translations because they all express something different to me. (emphasis mine)

2 Corinthians 1
NIV:
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

Message:
3-5All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.

NLT:
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 5 For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. 6 Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. 7 We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.