It can be hard to communicate just how much your gift means to a family, but Becky Loveland, one of our Love Not Lost recipients, wrote a beautiful piece to share their family’s experience with you.
Photo of the Loveland Family by Shawna Del Valle, one of our Love Not Lost photographer volunteers
A few years before Kelson left us for Heaven, his sister, Emma Sue, came to me with giant, tearful eyes, “Mom, Kelson hasn’t asked Jesus into his heart!!!” No amount of reassurance that Kelson, who was nonverbal, didn’t have to actually ask for his salvation, would calm her troubled heart. As we drew closer and closer to the day Kelson would earn his wings, I shared this story with his remarkable hospice nurse, Lanise; within a couple of days, we had formulated a plan for Kelson’s baptism here at home, in the early weeks of the pandemic. She knew of a wonderful organization called Love Not Lost, who would be willing to offer photography services for Kelson’s baptism, and would we be interested in something like that? We couldn’t accept this priceless gift quickly enough.
Emma Sue was at the helm and planned every single part of the baptism service, from Kelson’s outfit to the program for the day to the food we served for breakfast. As it was, our family and friends were unable to attend Kelson’s baptism, which was less than one month from the day he left us for Heaven. Kelson’s hospice nurse and chaplain were two of four guests who celebrated this special day with our family…the beautiful folks who volunteered with Love Not Lost were the other two. The photos they captured that day, in the most compassionate, subtle and unobtrusive manner, will forever be a treasure to each of us.
Giving to Love Not Lost means tangible, precious memories for families like ours. It means being able to remember a time you maybe didn’t realize you would want to remember. It means being able to hold on to someone long after he has gone on before you. It means something different to every family this incredible organization touches. For our family, it means a visible reminder that our son and brother did welcome Jesus into his heart, and it lets our hearts rest a little easier when we pick up our gorgeous album and see our beloved boy looking back at us through the lens that is Love Not Lost.
On behalf of our family, and so many others in an impossibly difficult time…thank you for your invaluable kindness and generosity.
To all of the givers in our community, THANK YOU. You are truly changing lives and helping people heal in grief. We are not able to do this important work without you.
If you’re not a giver yet, but want to help families like the Lovelands, your gift to Love Not Lost will be doubled today with our $6,000 matching grant!
Thank you for your generosity and support. Everyone deserves to be loved and supported through loss. Together, we will revolutionize the way we heal in grief.