Caitie was an extraordinary girl. Despite succumbing to an extremely rare form of Leukemia at such an early age, she held fast to her faith in Jesus Christ, declaring that “when she is weak, He is strong.” In a new feature video at Faith Out Loud, her parents Jay Jay and Feliz talk candidly about their little girl and declare that they would be lost without the love and assurance of Christ:
“She fell under this very rare type of leukemia,” Jay Jay explains. “It only happens like one out of a million. So there’s no protocol on how to treat it, since it is so rare,” Feliz adds. Despite their loss, Caitie’s parents say they are grateful to have spent so many cherished days with her. “I’m just so thankful we go to spend every second with her,” Jay Jay says. “Till her least breath, we were there.”
Due to the complex nature of her condition, Caitie had to spend a solid month in the hospital, receiving several different types of treatment as the doctors attempted to figure out how best to help her. Jay Jay explains how her stoic faith during this time has inspired him to rely solely on God through the pain of grief and loss.
“If your daughter was so courageous in facing all of the pokes, injections and every transfusion. If she was so brave because she trusted us, I realized we should be brave too, with our Father above. If He was able to sustain her, then He would be able to sustain us in Caitie’s passing,” Jay Jay explains. “We were saying ‘Okay, Lord, if you want to take her home, okay, take her home. We surrender her to you.’ It was so difficult to say ‘Jesus, I love you more than Caitie.’ It was just so difficult, but you realize that Jesus is enough.”
“We love her, but there is someone who loves her even more than us. And that’s Jesus.”
Though utterly tragic, Caitie’s story of faith and courage has inspired millions of people around the globe. Her parents are astonished by the work God is still doing through her life, even after her passing.
“We can’t imagine touching so many people in our lifetime. Like even Jesus is being mentioned in the news,” Jay Jay explains. “Thank you, Lord, for using her. Thank you for her life. She lived it fully. We couldn’t add a day more to her life because it was complete. As parents, we are just so proud of her. Job well done. Mission accomplished. Our daughter graduated life with flying colors.”
As the couple continues to raise two other children, Jay Jay highlights the one thing he and his wife want to teach them:
“If there is any lesson we could impart or give to our children, it would be Jesus. How he should be the center of your life. That could equip your child from a young age until he grows up. If you pursue Jesus every day, I guess you would have no fear for tomorrow. Even death would have no sting.”
“Yes, Jesus loves you. Yes, Jesus loves you,” Caitie sings to her brother in the video taken shortly before she died. “The Bible tells me so.”
Watch the staggeringly powerful story below:
https://www.facebook.com/FaithOutLoudStories/videos/1868411756505496/?hc_ref=ARQAnFlOOVh8gOOaln3NTCOWc1aeeoOfzgX9avXKT_Y476d5oXh9Of1JZtEOZognY20