Eulogy
Eulogy for My Son
Charles Davidson
I wrote this eulogy for my son, Jordan William Davidson, and it was delivered at his memorial service on March 24, 2005.
C. S. Lewis wrote: “Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.”
Two weeks ago today, we experienced our miracle. We experienced not only the miracle of a new life, but also miracles brought about by our faith in God to grant us our heart’s desire. We received a miracle far greater than any we could have hoped or prayed for.
Today we celebrate the life of our son, Jordan William. Even as we are saddened by the loss of our little one, I ask you to remember that Jordan was a gift from God, a pouring out from the heavens. Today, I ask you to celebrate a miracle of life and love as we give Jordan back to heaven.
Like most expecting parents, when Jen and I first learned we were having a baby, we were overjoyed. We were filled with anticipation and expectations. Every parent has dreams for the future of their children. Who will they look like? What will they grow up to become? And we answered the questions countless times, “Do you want a boy or a girl?” Like most expecting parents, our answer was, “We don’t care as long as the baby is healthy.”
And we assumed that our baby would be healthy.
It was just one week before Christmas that we received the news that would change our lives. Our baby, they told us, had Trisomy 18, a condition that was not compatible with life outside the womb. The doctors told us there was no hope.
And so, rather than place our hope in medical science, we placed our hope in God. We prayed for miracles. We prayed, of course, for healing, but we also prayed for time to spend with our son. We asked God to give us enough time to meet him and kiss him and love him. We lifted up our desperation and hopelessness to God and asked Him for a miracle.
God doesn’t always answer prayers the way we expect, but He does answer prayers.
We welcomed Jordan into the world two weeks ago. He was the most beautiful and amazing baby I;ve ever seen, but I may be a little biased.
We were given time to meet him and to kiss him and to love him. God granted us our heart’s desire. And for the next thirty-two hours, we were blessed beyond our comprehension.
And when the moment came for us to give Jordan back to Heaven, we were blessed again with another miracle.
Those who were in the room when we said “goodbye” to Jordan will forever be touched by the beauty and holiness of that moment.
Although God orchestrated every moment of Jordan’s life from the moment of his conception to the moment we returned him to Heaven, we could not have experienced our miracle without the help of the doctors, nurses, medical support staff, friends, and family who have surrounded us with love and hope. Thank you, especially, to Dr. Williams and Dr. Traugott, who gave us the hope that we would meet our son. You have all made an impact on Jordan’s life and, I’ll bet, he made a lasting impression on yours.
Thank you, God, for bringing Jordan into our lives. And thank you for protecting him until we can be reunited with him in Heaven.
Most miracles happen in the blink of an eye. While it’s easy to be sad at an occasion such as this, remember that we experienced our miracle for 32 weeks, 32 hours, and 7 minutes. And while we’re mourning the loss of our dear little Jordan, he is right now in Heaven dancing with the angels.