Tears of Sorrow and Rejoicing

In the midst of a jam packed weekend with the Explorer's campout, hosting a group of Volleyball players from Florida, speaking at a women's breakfast and preparing to teach children's church at night, the unexpected happened.

We got a call. It was another one of those dreaded calls. The family that asked us for help two weeks ago with the birth of their teenage daughter's baby named Abagail called again to tell us that the baby had died.

I had so much to do, but I knew I needed to ask God for strength and drop everything and go to be with the family.

I got there and saw their 18 year old daughter, still recuperating after her emergency c-section two weeks before. It seems like just yesterday we helped sponsor her quinceaños party. She was sitting outside staring at the wind. She looked too young and innocent to have just lost a child.

I went to her and touched her shoulder. She grabbed me and started to heave as she clung to me. "Why, why, why did I lose my baby?" At times like those, words just don't come. I held her and cried with her. Then when her mom came out, face toward the ground, I hugged her and we cried all together.

We sat out in front of their shack with the afternoon sun on our faces, and I listened to them share of the little one who's life was so short and so precious. I heard stories of God's provision and the grace He gave for this young mother to allow the doctors to pull the plug on her daughter's respirator. Then they had to bring the body home on a seven hour bus ride without anyone knowing, since carrying a corpse outside of an ambulance or herse is illegal here. The night of the burial the mother dreamed that her little girl was in heaven and had a smile on her face as she was held by a beautiful angel.

We prayed for God's comfort and peace and as I drove away the sun was going down through the beautiful valley where they live, I felt the tears running down my cheeks and I thanked God that little Abagail no longer suffered, that she was with the Lord. There will be a time when there will be no more pain and no more sorrow. I whispered the words to the old song,

"When we all get to heaven,
what a day of rejoicing that will be,
when we all see Jesus
we'll sing and shout the victory"

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