Tuesday, December 25, 2012

As I sit here on Christmas day, I grieve the loss of one of the most kind hearted, relentless, young ladies I have ever met.  I grieve for a mother who has lost her oldest daughter and a little girl who has lost her big sister.  On the morning of December 23rd Milonia lost her long fought battle with Diabetes.  She had been in the hospital for over a week...they gave her everything they could and helped her in every way they could.  Roseny stayed by her side (as she always does) and she said Milonia just "fell asleep and was gone." Please pray for Roseny as she must now do the unthinkable and plan a funeral in all the ruggedness of Haiti for her beloved first born.  She is barely holding herself together as I would probably be under the same circumstances.

In America, we are sheltered from death.  In Haiti, it is right in your face with all the harshness and in-sensitivities that go along with life here.

I've struggled to find hope in this situation that has overwhelmed me since we arrived.  However, hope is never hard to find when you turn to the word of God.  "But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory.  O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting? ...but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." I Cor 15:54-57.  Milonia is no longer in pain and I am grateful.  She is no longer weak, and tired, and feeling hopeless.

However, if we read on one more verse, there is hope in this for us as well.  "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord."  The work you do now, is never going to be in vain as long as you are "always abounding" in His work.  It's when we get side-tracked and are abounding in our own work that we get discouraged and want to quit. When God's work seems overwhelming (which it has to me this week), we can take comfort in these verses.  Because of the fact that we have this ultimate victory, we will never stop abounding in God's work.

The funeral will be tomorrow.  We will all gather to honor the brave young girl who fought so hard and sought so diligently after God.

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