My sister-in-law writes:
This is the last email I received about Jaiden. It is sent to me from a friend of mine who receives prayer requests from a Cursio prayer line, so he does not know the family personally. So anything he receives is from the prayer line. He received this update below about 5 days ago or so. I also heard from a friend that she saw the story on the news and that the family are from NH. This is all I know at this moment and I don’t know if she has passed away. Keep praying! I will update you when I hear anything more.
++++++++++Once again I am asking for prayers for little Jaiden Tlapa (8 yrs old) who had the snowblower accident. I heard today that Children’s Hospital told the family there is nothing more they can do for her. They have to make the decision to either take her off life support or move Jaiden to another facility. This family needs prayers desperately to make this decision. I can’t even imagine!!!
Below is an excerpt Jaiden’s Mom wrote in an email to the local newspaper. This was written before they received the news above.
Thank you all for your prayers for this precious child and her family.
Lisa
“We do not know what the future holds,” said Holleigh Tlapa. “The miracle of Jaiden is the faith and hope that she restored in a family, a community, a town, a state, a nation, and even at this point the world.
“Our love and gratitude for the paramedics, the medical teams, the friends, family and strangers that have been praying for our baby is the most overwhelming and beautiful thing any of us have ever experienced. God already granted us one miracle, getting Jaiden safely to Boston. If this is the miracle, and it means we get time to tell her how much we love her and be with her before she leaves this world then so be it. Our faith in God’s will is steadfast. We pray that she will come back to us. But we are reminded: ‘God grant us the serenity to accept what we cannot change, the courage to change what we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.’
I read the Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy about 15-18 years ago (can’t remember precisely now how long ago it was). I can’t remember a lot of details, but your comments have jogged my memory somewhat. I agree with your assessment of the inaccuracy/inadequacy of the blurbs. I remember being equally puzzled, though I can’t remember which translation I read. I do remember a profound sense of sadness the further into the stories I went. Sadness over the damage to her relationships with her father and sister which her choices caused, and her inability to mend the rifts. Sadness over her spiritual struggles and her failure to ever find peace.
A couple of weeks ago I came across another book by Undset in a used book store. It’s a Penguin edition of Gunnar’s Daughter. Do you know anything about this title?