God Didn't Need Another Angel

By Brooklyn Thompson

"All of a sudden, as our doctor was looking at the ultrasound, another doctor came into the room. He asked the other physician to sit and look. I remember them saying something about looking for fetal heart rhythms. Again, this was all slow motion to me, and it didn't feel real. Then, the second physician turned to me and put his hand on my leg

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Feb 2, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685560867

Brooklyn Thompson

Brooklyn Thompson lives in Mountain Home, AR, with her husband, Johnny, and their children, Abigail, Charlotte, and Henry. Her husband has served in their local church as the youth pastor for twenty years, and Brooklyn has assisted him in youth ministry for thirteen years. Brooklyn also has used her acting background to direct, act, and produce various skits, dramas, and plays during those thirteen years. Brooklyn was also the children's director for three years and has currently been the worship team's drummer for the past four years. She is very passionate about her children, acting, drumming, writing, and serving in her local church.

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God Didn’t Need

Another Angel

�

How to Grieve, Help Those Who Are Grieving

and Turn a Tragedy into a Testimony

By Brooklyn Thompson

God Didn’t Need Another Angel

Trilogy Christian Publishers A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

2442 Michelle Drive Tustin, CA 92780

Copyright © 2021 by Brooklyn Thompson

Unless otherwise indicated all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org.Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.TM Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.TM Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without written permission from the author. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

Rights Department, 2442 Michelle Drive, Tustin, CA 92780.

Trilogy Christian Publishing/TBN and colophon are trademarks of Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Cover design by: Natalee Dunning

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Trilogy Christian Publishing.

Trilogy Disclaimer: The views and content expressed in this book are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views and doctrine of Trilogy Christian Publishing or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN: 978-1-68556-085-0

E-ISBN: 978-1-68556-086-7

Dedication

This book is dedicated to all four of my children.

To Andrew, my precious little man. I will forever be grateful to God for allowing me to be your mother. I greatly anticipate the day I get to hold you in my arms again, see you smile, and kiss you constantly. For now, I will hug Andrew Monkey and believe you feel it in heaven.

To Abigail, my little warrior princess! You blow me away every day at how brilliant and artistic you are. I know you will do amazing things for the Lord, and I love watching you grow and excel in this plan every day. You are my very best friend.

To Charlotte, the sweetest and most loving girl in the world! You have been a pure joy since the day you were born, and you make me laugh continually. You also love like Jesus, purely and without judgment. I see God’s heart in you every day.

And to my Henry, the sweetest boy in the world. I fall more in love with you every day we spend together. You have become my buddy, my tickle monster, my joyful and silly boy. I love you dearly and pray Jesus comes back soon, so I don’t ever have to give you up.

Table of Contents

Dedication iii

Introduction vii

Our Story 1

God Has a Plan 25

Gods Ways Are Not Our Ways 29

God Didn’t Want Him to Suffer on Earth 35

Maybe Andrew Was Disabled Somehow,

and God Spared You Lifelong Struggles 39

He’s in a Much Better Place 43

You’ll Have Another Baby 53

You’ll Get Over it 61

God Is in Control 67

God Just Needed Another Angel 73

What to Say Instead 79

Aftermath of Andrew 87

Scriptures 107

Introduction

Eight years ago, we lost someone very precious to us. We were newly married and planning the birth of our first child. We had no warning that our greatest time of joy would become our most difficult and sorrowful season to walk through. You don’t think after coming to the end of a blissful pregnancy that anything tragic could happen. But it did. In the months following burying our firstborn son, we faced immense oppression from the enemy as well as trying to pick up the pieces of our shattered faith back together. We were warned during that time, by our pastors, that things would be said to us that would possibly hurt us but to pay no mind to them because sometimes people just don’t know what to say. I honestly didn’t believe it when we were told that this would happen, but it did. Why would anyone say hurtful things to us while we’re grieving? Everyone I know loves us and would never intentionally hurt us. But this would come in such a way that seemed like comfort, advice, and hope. And would do just the opposite: it would confuse us, hurt, wound, and anger us. These things being said are not new but rather old. They have been said for years upon years with little consideration for the truth they are presenting. Let me preface this by saying that I am not a therapist, psychologist, or grief counselor. I have no college degree whatsoever. I am simply a mother who lost her firstborn son. I am a mother who was in the trenches and in the valleys of the most unbearable pain. I have emerged healed but not unscathed. I am all the wiser, and I love deeper because of it. I have learned how to grieve and how not to grieve. And I have learned how to forgive people who have said some of the most unknowingly hurtful things to me. Their hearts were pure and their intentions good, but their naivety and understanding of Scripture went before them. These sayings that people have been speaking in the church and out for decades have little to no Scripture backing whatsoever. It might sound nice and comforting at the moment, but all it’s really doing is causing confusion and hurt for the one grieving. And more importantly, it causes anger towards God and places the blame on Him. It’s time we get revelation as to the truth these sayings are presenting to the one hearing it and how damaging they can be. Some of this may sound harsh at times, but I promise you my heart is only for people’s hearts to be enlightened through God’s Word and realize how damaging and unscriptural they are. God didn’t take my son, it wasn’t His plan; it’s not His ways, and He certainly didn’t need another angel!

Chapter 1

Our Story

�

Johnny and I were married in 2010 at our local church by our pastors, Greg and Sara Ford. After the insistent meddling of my mother in 2008 that we should get to know each other, we began a friendship, which turned into dating for two years and then married on a beautiful April day. I always knew I wanted a big family. I was the youngest of two children, and my brother is two years older than me. We had the typical brother/sister relationship growing up, with lots of teasing and sibling rivalry. So, I often felt lonely and wished so badly I had a sister to play with. I knew when I grew up and got married someday, I wanted to have at least two girls because I wanted them to know what it was like growing up with a sister. Honestly, though, I’ve always said I wanted six kids. At least four, but definitely six. I know it sounds crazy to some, but after I met Johnny’s family, I fell even more in love with the idea of a big family. My husband, Johnny, is the oldest of four kids—two boys and two girls. And let me say, their house is crazy! Crazy in a good way! Everyone gets along, is loud, and is happy. I was very blessed to marry into such a quirky, loud, and loving family. And after that, I was fully convinced, even more so, that I wanted lots of children. Johnny wanted a few, but he wasn’t so sure about six.

After the wedding, I wanted to have kids right away, and Johnny was more settled on waiting a few years. This became an issue in our marriage, among other things. The first two years were extremely rocky for us. Looking back now, I can see that we both had unrealistic expectations for our marriage, and because I wasn’t experiencing the fairytale in my everyday life as a married woman, I sunk deep into a depression. I also quit my full-time job and began working at our church as the children’s church director. I often felt very overwhelmed by the task because I knew nothing about children in that age range or how to relate to them, and I honestly was just so ready for children of my own. And with our marriage on a constant roller coaster of good and bad, the dream of children seemed to drift farther and farther away. A few months before we celebrated our two-year anniversary, I made an appointment with a divorce attorney. I was just tired of fighting and feeling misunderstood and unloved. When I told Johnny about my decision, he asked if I would hold off on that and go to marriage counseling with him first. At that point, I figured I had nothing to lose by going, so why not. We sought out a Christian marriage counselor and began to see him weekly. I can’t begin to tell you how thankful I am for that decision because, ultimately, it saved our marriage. And I look now at our four children that have been born since and can’t imagine not having them or Johnny. I’m just so thankful for God leading one of us in that direction and me putting my pride down long enough to try it. This is not a marriage book, but I will say to anyone out there married: if you’re having issues or problems of any kind, and you’re considering