This picture was taken twenty days prior to Joshua's passing, I cherish this family picture  Trading Beauty for Ashes  We at the Joshua Frase Foundation would like to share a story of loss, love and hope. Joanna Browning shares this story with us now. “Last month we lost our beautiful Jacob suddenly, at the age of 3 1/2.   Since we received Jacob’s diagnosis, Garrett and I made choices each day to celebrate his life and to remain in faith.  And similarly, in grieving his loss, we are continuing to choose joy over sorrow, hope over despair, and celebration over mourning.  Jacob has transformed us as individuals and as parents, and as we move forward we will continue to celebrate the gift he is to us.  We are encouraged by the fact that he is being held by our Heavenly Father and experiencing pure JOY with no sickness, suffering, or pain. Although he is no longer with us physically, Jacob lives in our hearts and we rejoice that our next encounter with our beautiful boy will be for eternity.  In the meantime God “. . . gives us beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified” (Isaiah  61:3)” As today marks the seven year anniversary of Joshua's passing, Paul and I have leaned on this passage many times over the last 22 years. This verse speaks of a beautiful exchange - one hard to imagine here on earth. But, as we look back on our Joshua’s life, although it was a life riddled with pain, we see beauty. And, while the past seven years have certainly been colored with mourning his loss, there is also unspeakable joy that we were blessed to be his family.   This year, there are twelve new CNM/MTM families experiencing their first Christmas with an empty place in their hearts. We know that Christmas is a wonderful, joyful time - and we celebrate it as such. But, we also know that for these families, Christmas will never be the same. We wanted to take a brief moment of your time and ask you to join us today as we celebrate, honor and mourn the lives of these precious children. As you gather together with family tomorrow let us light a candle in honor of these children. Let us say together, their life will not be in vain. As we light these candles, we remind ourselves that there is hope even on the darkest of days. As many of you know, The MTM program has entered into clinical trials. Our seed of hope that was planted over 22 years ago is coming to fruition, and the lives of our CNM/MTM kiddos, whether passed or still with us, continue to inspire and encourage us. Our goal for those that have passed is to ensure a legacy of a therapy or a cure in honor of their lives. As always, thank you for investing in our dream for our children that is finally being realized! Each life lost causes a ripple across the water that will have an effect on all of us, and just as we see the ripple of Joshua’s life still impacting lives, each ripple comes with a seed of hope that will forever remain. Always for the Children, The Joshua Frase Foundation