Austin's Blog

I am forever grateful to the Lord and to Austin K. DeArmond and Valerie Dawn DeArmond for giving me the gift of being Gabriel’s Aunt Claire. Sharing these words at Gabriel’s celebration of life was my privilege.

Gabriel Austin DeArmond was the embodiment of joy. He loved being outside, clapping his hands, seeing my dog, Charlie, and pulling his mama’s hair. My favorite days were the ones when I would come home from work and he would be cruising the neighborhood in his wagon, taking in the world, smiling, laughing, spreading cheer everywhere he went.

James tells us in Scripture that every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, and Gabriel was a light in my world that reminded me every single day of our Father’s love. To look in Gabriel’s face was to catch a glimpse of our Creator and His beauty.

However, I cannot explain the gift Gabriel has been in my life without explaining the gift his parents and sister are.
I have known Austin for ten years now, and I have known Valerie for almost as many. I met Austin when he would substitute teach for me; in my fourteen years of teaching, he is still my favorite substitute, because he is the only one I have ever had who always made the children do their work. Any time he was in my classroom, he would leave behind a note of encouragement, reminding me that we work for the Lord and not for man. He would include Scripture and the ways he was praying for me.

And pray for me, Austin did – because Austin is a man of prayer, of conviction, a man who desperately seeks to know God and love God, and, as a result, know and love others. His faith is firm and his zeal unwavering. I have seen him lead our students, our coworkers, our church, and his family with integrity and steadfastness.

I have seen him worship God in the midst of the absolute darkness of the last ten days. Just hours after Gabriel entered heaven, I thanked Austin for his faith, and he said to me, “Where else can we go, Claire, but to the Lord?”

Austin’s life is a testimony to the power of God to redeem us from our sinful ways… but, as wonderful as Austin is, I often lovingly remind him that he married “up” when he married Valerie.

Valerie is a woman of grace and compassion, someone who loves her God, her husband, and her children fiercely and unconditionally. She has discipled countless women in our church and community, faithfully pursuing relationships even through difficulties or differences. Valerie is selfless. She has a servant’s heart. She prays for me and encourages me when I need it the most, she fervently seeks the Lord’s face and points me to Him, she strives to better love others because God has loved us first.

In the days, weeks, and months after Hurricane Ida, after both of us lost our homes, Valerie and I cried together, prayed together, and reminded each other of God’s promises. When I stood in the emergency room with Valerie, watching the medical professionals do everything in their power to preserve Gabriel’s life, Valerie said to me, “even if I only had a year with Gabriel, I am so thankful that God gave me that.”

I used to think that Hurricane Ida was one of the hardest experiences I would go through, but now I thank God everyday for the storm bringing both the DeArmonds and me to the same neighborhood. Worshiping with them in the same church is a blessing, but seeing them almost daily is the greatest gift. To walk in their home without knocking, to kick my shoes off and lie down on their couch, to sit at their table and share a meal, to read Bible stories to Addie at bedtime, to hold Gabe and rock him to sleep, to be able to confess sin or cry or share encouragement – this is what it means to be part of the Body of Christ.
The way Austin and Valerie have shared their children with me is no small thing. From day one, I have been Aunt Claire to Addie and Gabe. Austin and Valerie have worked hard to foster a relationship between their children and me, just so that I could have the blessing of knowing their love.

When the kids are in my house, Addie goes straight to the snack drawer, and Gabriel would go straight to the my dog’s water bowl to make a mess. Gabe’s smile would melt away any stress, any distraction, any sadness, because I would simply look in his face and know the Lord’s love for me. Only a good and gracious God could give a gift like Gabe to all of us.

My heart aches every time I pull into our neighborhood, and I still look for Gabe in his wagon. I long to sit on my front porch with him or to walk over to their house and see him crawling around, not letting Valerie out of his sight. I cherish the day we went to Bridge Park and Gabriel happily sat in my arms, watching Addie and Nora play. I loved the day Gabe showed me he had learned to clean up his toys, putting each block into a bag and clapping because he was so proud of himself. We were proud of him too.

Valerie, Austin, Addie – in the midst of the devastation of losing Gabriel, in the hardest and darkest moments of your lives, there is nothing that I can do to alleviate the pain and suffering you now live with. But I stand here with you, mourning Gabriel’s earthly life but celebrating his eternal one. We do not grieve as those without hope because we know we will see Gabriel again, and “the calm will be the better for the storms that we endure.”

Gabriel, my sweet Brother Bear, thank you for loving me. Thank you for your smiles, your pure joy, your light. You continue to be a blessing to me because I cling to the memories of the 366 days of your life, and I look forward to seeing you again in heaven.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.