Disappointment, Grief and the God Factor

Sorry this is neither a movie nor a novel review. Neither is this a write up on female empowerment.

It was a beautiful day in November 2016. I received a call from one of my aunts in Texas.  'Debola, Debola', 'Bee has just been diagnosed with ovarian cancer'. My heart sank a little. My said aunt had just gotten divorced from her husband and aunty Bee's house was her chilling spot in Dallas, Texas. Surgery commenced followed by bouts of chemotherapy to treat the disease. I made a prayer to heaven. Aunty Bee was not allowed to die. 

Aunty Bee recovered after a while, having completed her treatments and was able to go back to work. All I could do was check with my aunt from time to time on the state of things. All seemed well for  about a year and then came the news. The disease had spread and aunty Bee began another round of chemotherapy.  A few weeks ago, the doctors confirmed that the chemo hadn't worked and referred her to another physician. Sadly, the news was broken to aunty Bee that medical science could not intervene any further. 

The ball was now in the court of the Monarch of the Universe. We all prayed. It was a hopeless situation and only God could intervene and make her whole again. When the news reached me that aunty Bee had developed a blood clot in the heart recently, I knew the prognosis was terrible.

Sadly, aunty Bee passed on a few days later. Why does God heal some people and not others? It was not a matter of faith because many of us with strong faith in God's word had prayed for her. For days, I mused on the situation as I could not fathom how her children and parents must be feeling.

Yet I knew that the word of God is just and true. I had faced a similar kind of predicament with the death of my dad a few years ago and for years after, I asked WHY? Because it seemed that God had failed me. In my search for answers, I stumbled on this book by Dr TL Osborn - WHY? Tragedy Trauma Triumph. If it seems that you are walking through the valley of the shadow of death, trying to cope with the loss of a loved one, I encourage you to please try to get this book and read it.

I don't know how many of us have gone through things in life that's left us questioning the efficacy of God or his word. After aunty Bee's death, I had to reach out to someone who I consider an older brother of mine filled with wisdom. I tap him from time to time when I'm baffled and need to speak with someone. As usual he shed light on this issue. He had walked a similar path. These were some of the points he raised :

1. Has God ever answered your prayers. The fact that he has answered one of your prayers should give you a foundation to not let your faith waiver.

2. God has a purpose for our lives here on earth and when that purpose is fulfilled, he doesn't have a reason to let us keep hanging around.

3. Our view of death and eternity is different from God's perspective. While we humans only see a little picture of what's ahead, God sees into eternity. He sees the bigger picture. This tallied with what my pastor had told me years ago when I struggled in my faith after the death of my dad.

If you are reading this, please say a word of prayer for aunty Bee's family and anyone you know around you who is dealing with grief. The pain of grief is real and actually drives people into depression.

My personality has been analyzed and while parts of it are Choleric, there is also a Melancholy side to my personality. As such, I do not take joy for granted. Neither do I take praise and worship for granted. A merry heart does good like medicine but a broken spirit dries the bones. Try to spend time just basking in God's presence and surround yourself with songs of joy.

I struggled with putting these thoughts down but I felt like there might be someone out there who is struggling in his faith walk, dealing with grief and asking,"Why"? 

Always remember that God's thoughts towards you are thoughts of peace and not evil to give you a future and an expected end.

May the peace of God that transcends all understanding garrison and mount guard over our hearts and mind in Christ Jesus.

Selah......