He seemed to know exactly how to comfort that night – the night of August 10, that would have been Jona’s 18th birthday. As he cuddled in my
arms he opened his eyes, looked right into my eyes, smiled until he dimpled, and said: “Jonatá!”
I was amazed; our Little Man seemed to have read my mind, right then full of memories
of Jona.
“DJ” (as Jona called our Little Man) was most likely thinking back to earlier that day
when he sat on my lap at the computer,
looking through lots and lots of Jona pictures with Elizabeth and me as I compiled
a collage to commemorate Jona’s birthday.
Up until that evening all our Little Man’s attempts to say “Jona” had for months been
“Nana” (interesingly also his word for sweet things!) and then more recently “Nona” – but earlier on that evening of Jona’s birthday he had said “Jonatá!” for the first time. And he had even cooperated so we could get a video clip:
As he lay in my arms that night, his saying “Jonatá!” – so happily, confident that
he was going to make me happy by doing it – was a blessing beyond description. Our
loving Heavenly Father knew that we needed the extra special timing of it...
The eternal God is your refuge,
And underneath are the everlasting arms...
And underneath are the everlasting arms...
(Deut. 33:27)
