A newborn is called home to God, leaving a family to grieve and yet find hope and strength.

Anticipating the birth of her fourth child, Jenny Nommensen-Krauklis put up a photo on Facebook of her three boys wearing shirts stating, "I'm a big brother" and "me too!" Friends cheered on while she anticipated the arrival of another child.

By all human accounts, she sailed smoothly through pregnancy and delivery. "On Aug. 13, we gave birth to our fourth son, Jonah," Jenny recalls. "He was healthy and perfect and looked just like his brothers."

Early the next morning, while performing a routine check, a nurse noted that Jonah felt cold. She took him out of the room, and shortly after his heart stopped. "I held Jonah's hand while the doctors tried to restart his heart," Jenny says, "and then faith took over. I prayed boldly, 'Not my will, Lord, but yours.' "

After 30 minutes, Jenny and her husband, Brandon, gave permission to the doctors to stop attempts of resuscitation. Her mid-August Facebook post summed up the sorrowful turn of events: Jonah Brandon Krauklis was born on Aug. 13, baptized on Aug. 14, and born into eternal life that same day.

A time to grieve

"The pain and sadness of losing a child is indescribable," says Jenny. "Even months later, not a day goes by without tears. The sleepless nights are still around. I still ask, 'Why my child?' and dream of all the 'what ifs.' "

Exhaustion, sadness, and anger can be overwhelming, and without the help of God, it is impossible to handle. Time after time, Jenny finds the best words of comfort and peace in God's messages in the Bible. One passage in particular she relates to comes from Isaiah: "A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out" (Isaiah 42:3). "I am definitely bruised and smoldering," she says, "but I have the promise that I will not break." 

Jenny's pastor also shared God's Word with Jenny and her family. "In a visit with my pastor a few weeks after Jonah's death, I asked him when things would get back to normal," Jenny remembers. "In his wisdom, he told me they wouldn't. He told me my life would never be the same. My baby is gone, and nothing will change that. But that doesn't mean life will be horrible. Eventually the tears will stop, but life won't be the same. It will just be different."