A Bittersweet Thank-you...

Last week I received this email from a customer who purchased my 'Ring of the Month Club' back in December... I wanted to share it with you... It's a beautiful testimony of a husband's love... And even more so, of God's grace to a grieving family... I hope it encourages you as it did me... That we must treasure each day... And that there is true hope to be found in Christ, even in the midst of grief and pain...

"Good day. I just wanted to send you a message to thank you for the rings and let you know what they have meant to us.  

My wife was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer April 2011 while pregnant with our third child.  The baby was born a couple months early but is fine.  Amy's cancer was both advanced and aggressive and we were told right away it was terminal.  The best hope they had was to give her another 2 1/2 years with chemo and surgery.  I got her the rings last Christmas as a gift of hope.  To let her know that our lives together were not over and that I hoped and planned on having her around to get all 12 even though I knew the chances of that happening were pretty slim.  She was always so excited to get the rings, it was a constant reminder of hope and they added beauty to a time of a lot of darkness.  Amy passed away June 5.  She got to wear 5 of the rings and just missed the 6th.  We have a lot of relief for her as she is now free from cancer and all that suffering it had brought to her.  Best of all she is no longer relying on hope as now all of her greatest desires are fulfilled in the presence of Christ.  

I do not want to cancel the rings.  Having them come every month will be good for us.  It will force us to face our loss if we are avoiding it and remind us of the things we loved about Amy.  The rings really were 'her'.  I will keep the 5 she got to wear for our family and the others that come I am giving to some younger girls and friends of Amy so they can wear them for her.  I talk with the kids as they come too about how they remind us of Amy.  The metal looks vintage and we talk about how it looks old and reminds us how things wear out and break down because of the curse of sin.  The flowers remind us that God brings beauty into this through His grace and that nothing can stop it.  My oldest two love the rings and love to talk about them.  Their mom was only 31 and died 'too soon' but we know that God has already brought beauty out of this and will continue to do so.

Thank you for making these rings.  We look forward to more coming."