A few years ago (well….more like 20 years ago!) I was a freshman at what was then called Ricks College in Rexburg, ID.  At the time, my passion was ballroom dancing.  I had danced through high school and Ricks had the best dance program in the state at the time and was a good preparation for the best dance program (BYU) in the country.

My first year, I was on a team called “Style”, which went around the western united states putting on shows and also teaching kids how to dance appropriately and have clean fun.

Everyone on the team was very down to earth and friendly and full of energy.  One young man stood out though.  He was always full of optimism and positive energy.  Nothing seemed to get him down and we all had great fun as we toured the western U.S.

He went on a mission and I lost track of him…until about 7 years ago when I bumped into him.  He was good friends with friends of mine and it was great to see he had a beautiful little family.  We’ve kept in touch off and on throughout the years since then.

Some of you may remember, about 4 years ago, I wrote a post on this blog about his new little daughter who had been featured in the local news in Seattle.  She was dying at the time from a rare heart condition and at that time they were asking for prayers and donations to pay for a heart transplant.

Imagine their excitement, joy and gratitude they felt when the heart transplant was successful and they had raised money to do the surgery!  I along with others received a note of thanks from my friend, who is her father.

Fast forward 4 years from now.  The sweet little girl’s body rejected the heart and she is on life support without a chance of survival off life support.  Here is a note I received from him today:

Heaven will soon be sweeter. Our precious daughter Mia will be reunited with her donor tomorrow after she is taken off life support. We are devastated and wish this was not happening. It all seems like a terrible nightmare. We will be sad for a very long time, and will miss her everyday. She was the happiest, sweetest little girl, and there will be a hole in all of our hearts. The children are very sad and just want her to wake up. We are in agony and are trying to hold it together for sake of our other children. We are so thankful for all of your love and support and have truly felt it. The pain is too much for my soul, but your prayers are being felt. I am not sure if I will update again until we are back in Utah. I just needed you all to know that we are thankful for your love. so thankful. Tomorrow we will be doing the impossible task of letting our sweet little angel go back to live with her Father in Heaven. We will miss her everyday.

Please join me in praying for the McDonald family to give them comfort and faith in this trying period.  I can’t imagine how they feel and I pray God’s love and peace over them.