Sarah Warsi

 

The loss of a child. It’s every parent’s worse nightmare.

The poignant story of the Coble family is one of unimaginable loss, unbelievable courage, strength, and the power of faith. They made an appearance on the Oprah show in August 2010 and their ordeal gave a whole new meaning to believing in miracles.

Eight years ago, Lori and Chris Coble, from Orange County, California, (pictured above) lost all three of their children, five and under, in a terrible car accident.

It was an average day on May 4th 2007, and Lori Coble was with her three children and mother, when she was on the highway heading home after a trip to the mall. Without warning, a tractor-trailor hit her van from behind and by the end of that day, her three beautiful children had gone to heaven.

This story is just another example of how your life can drastically change in an instant.

The strength of this couple was truly awe-inspiring. They could have so easily allowed their grief to overcome them, but instead, they drew on their deep faith to find the strength to move forward, for the sake of their children.

Here is a photo of these angels, from the left: Emma, Katie, and Kyle.

From deep loss to an amazing twist of fate

After the loss of their children, the Coble family felt an obvious void that any parent would face after experiencing such tragedy. In one interview, Chris dubbed themselves as “parents without children”.

They knew that a huge part of restoring any kind of happiness in their lives would be if they could have children again. They wanted to carry on the legacy of their angels, and so decided to expand their family.

A year after losing their son and two daughters, Lori and Chris Coble were blessed with triplets: two girls and one boy. The irony is truly bittersweet and I personally believe that divine intervention had a role in this heart-warming outcome.

Meet Jake, Ashley and Ellie Coble. These beautiful kids are now seven years old. Each of them carries the same middle name of their siblings in heaven and also resemble them in their own special way.

Here’s a lovely 2014 photo of them from Lori Coble’s Facebook page:

Never give up

I wanted to share this story as a reminder to not only appreciate each and every moment you have with your loved ones, but to remember that God works in mysterious ways – even in our darkest moments, when our faith is questioned to such enormous degrees. It’s how we handle ourselves through these difficult times that makes all the difference in restoring the light and happiness back into our lives. 

The Coble family is a true testament to that. 

Their angels in heaven will never be replaced. I hold a special place in my heart for each of them. But it is comforting to see the joy back in their lives with the children they have now. I think of this family often and hope that they are doing well.

Below is a beautiful tribute to Emma, Katie and Kyle Coble. Rest in eternal peace, Angels.