Gentry and Hadley Eddings lived every parents worst nightmare after getting into a nasty car wreck in May 2015, which ended up taking the lives of their small children, Dobbs and Reed.
Dobbs was two years old at the time, and Reed was still in the womb. The shock of the accident caused Hadley to go into labor, and sweet little Reed passed away two days after being born.
Now, almost two years after that horrific incident, the couple made an amazing announcement yesterday: they’re pregnant with twins! Here’s the moment Gentry announced the great news in front of the church – and the congregation immediately launches into applause:
Posting an adorable ultrasound on her Facebook page, Hadley said this:
“Y’all have held us up in prayer and we are so grateful! Now we ask you to add two more Eddings to your prayers! We are expecting twins this summer!”
The couple set a remarkable example for others to follow in the days following their personal tragedy, relying heavily on their faith and trusting in God to restore their lives. They immediately forgave the man responsible for the accident, a 28-year-old truck driver. Gentry’s sister tells People:
“Forgiveness can be a tricky thing. But like my brother said during the service, forgiving the driver was easy and hard all at the same time. Hard because our natural inclination is to cling to the pain and hurt and even anger. Easy because we believe in a good God.”
The unusual willingness to forgive by Gentry, who is a music pastor at church, and his wife, Hadley, touched people around the world who read their story. Especially those around them:
Their remarkable ability to forgive has inspired a church community helping the couple cope with their loss, as well as those around the world who’ve encountered their story. It has also touched the prosecutor who put the man who killed their children in prison.
The DA, whose offices normally handles tens of thousands of cases per year, marveled that the couple’s faith wasn’t shaken but rather deepened.
“This couple has about them a peace that passes all understanding… I would love to believe that any of us would have that capacity to forgive. It is so rare. In the book the Eddings read and believe, the Bible, they know the end of the story. And in the end of the story, love wins.”
Gentry recently spoke about how tough each season can be, but also how beautiful they can be as well.
“Each new season there’s different reminders. We miss our boys and wish they were here with us. But spring in particular, as you see the trees and the flowers bursting to new life, I think God has given us a reminder in creation of new life that is a symbol of what He accomplished in Jesus Christ. That death to life, that death to resurrection, that He accomplished Himself when he went to the grave and rose again. And so when I see the flowers and trees bursting in new life – I’m reminded that God is powerful and He can do that not only with trees but with us. He can bring us to new life. That’s an encouragement to see those things.”
Here’s one of Gentry’s favorite memories of Dobbs – playing in the rain… and getting doused with the umbrella.
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