When Elodie passed, there were things you never want to do when it comes to planning such things for your child. We decided that we wanted to have a memorial service for her. Something simple, yet beautiful. Our church was incredibly supportive and met us where we needed them the most.

We planned out the order of service with our pastors. We selected music and finalized the homily. Two things that weighed on my heart was that I wanted something special for the children in our family, including Finn. Our three nephews and three young cousins took the death of Elodie so very hard and we wanted special time carved out during her memorial to minister to their little hearts. I also wanted to give a small gift to those who came, so we bought lily-of-the-valley pips and placed them in small burlap bags. They can be planted in the fall and they’ll bloom in the spring in remembrance of our sweet girl.

We sang ‘You Gave Your Life Away’ by Paul Baloche and ‘It Is Well With My Soul’ by Horatio Spafford. The story behind the classic hymn (‘It Is Well’) can be found here…these words spoke volumes to our hearts. Dave Huber gave the homily. He spoke from Romans 8.

Romans 8:28-29 is scripture that I’ve been clinging to and find comfort from…

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”