Levi's Story

God seeks to bring maturity to us in all sorts of ways. It is difficult to understand how God uses hard times of suffering to grow us up. Listen to Levi’s story and see how God used a tragedy to bring total strangers together so that he could develop maturity in everyone that was involved in life of little 3 day old Levi Gritsavage.

Levi Anthony Gritsavage was three days old. He was Ed and Angela Gritsavage’s third child, and their third son.

Levi’s tiny body was formed with three abnormalities that had threatened his life even within the womb: a double cleft palate, a too-small aorta, and a small sac of internal organs that protruded from his abdominal wall. It’s a condition clinically termed trisomy 13, meaning there’s an extra chromosome in each cell. It was amazing that Levi had lived this long. Ed and Angela focused on their newest son, knowing that every minute they could spend with him was a precious gift.

It was 1:00 on a windy afternoon in North Carolina when Levi died. Ed’s mother, Ellen, was on her patio, her thoughts and prayers continually on her critically fragile grandbaby miles away in Texas. Ed’s parents are godly people who continually seek to hear God's voice or see His hand in the events of life. When Ellen noticed a small white feather float to the ground, she thought, “I bet Levi just passed away”, and she checked the time. After returning from a walk, she and her husband John found that in spite of the strong wind, the white feather had lodged in a quiet corner of the patio. Ellen retrieved it as a memorial to their grandson, whose given names mean promise and praiseworthy. It was soon confirmed that Levi had indeed passed away at the very same time the feather fell to the ground.

So where are the promises and praises in this sad story? In just a short little time, Levi Gritsavage’s life did plenty to illustrate God’s promises and praiseworthiness.

When Ed and Angela learned that her pregnancy wasn’t “normal”, they had recently moved to Waxahachie and joined the fellowship of Waxahachie Bible Church. They both had strong family foundations of a practical, living faith in the sovereignty and power of a loving and wise God. They didn’t doubt, get angry, or stress about how to “cope”. They felt they just needed to live it out; that they had no choice but to go through this, so their attitude was, “let’s just do it in a way that honors God and preserves our testimony. God has chosen us for this for a purpose, and we don’t want to mess it up.” Bible passages they had learned growing up were a great support, as were the lyrics to good Christian music. Angela found her morning “alone time” especially precious. Before her two older boys, Elijah and Josiah, were awake, she enjoyed time with just herself, God, and little Levi as he grew each day within her. The doctors had said that she could lose him at any time, so every morning that she could feel him moving was cause for thanksgiving.

That’s not to say that there weren’t difficult times. Angela explained, “Easter was a hard Sunday for me. We had just found out about Levi’s condition and I wanted to focus on the Lord but all I could think about was God’s power to heal and restore life. My comfort was in the hope I could have. I struggled with how to pray; what to ask for. Jesus knew what He had to go through and still asked for the cup to pass, so I felt that I, not knowing all we would have to go through, could also ask the same. Bruce preached that day on not putting God in a box. I realized that I was expecting God to let my baby live because my sister had lost a baby five years earlier, and surely He wouldn’t allow this to happen twice in the same family; I realized that was a box I was putting God into.”

Even before Levi was conceived, God was at work creating a network of believers to encourage and sustain Angela and Ed. Looking back, they could see how God had chosen and provided believers at church, doctor’s offices, and even the funeral home – strong testimony of His promises to provide all their needs.

A huge part of that network for Angela is Becky Jones, who serves with WBC’s Baby Blessings ministry. Most of her calls to expectant mothers are short, sweet, and cheery. She knew this one would be different, and prayed for extra wisdom and compassion before she picked up the phone and punched in Angela’s number. It turned out that she had no idea how very different this would turn out to be, but God certainly did.

Over the months before Levi’s birth, Becky and Angela went from total strangers to close friends and sisters in Christ. At the time this was written Becky ministered with her main resource, which was time. She was available to babysit or listen or pray throughout Angela’s pregnancy and continued to do so in Angela’s time of grieving. It would take another whole article to describe how God used these two women to bless, teach, inspire, encourage and help each other. Angela says, “My entire family has gained a close friend, godly example, and a prayer supporter through Becky - even my boys love her.” Becky insists that in seeking to bless Angela, she was the one who received the greater blessing, as she observed Ed and Angela’s steadfast faith, and mature marriage and parenting relationships.

Many of Angela’s prayers were answered as Levi came into the world. She treasured the nine months she carried him. She and Ed were so grateful to get to hold and love him even for three short days. They don’t know yet how God will ultimately use Levi’s life, but they know that promises and praises will continue to descend, just like that soft little white feather, every time his story is told.