Have you thanked Him?
Have you praised Him?
Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?
Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?
1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)
The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.
Good morning my DISPATCH/OFH family. It is good to be at the keyboard today. I pray that ALL of you are doing well in this holiday season! Don’t forget to take a breath.
Soak the time in, because there are no guarantees.
Case in point, this past Tuesday I was honored to lay to rest little Camiyah, the grand-daughter of a special colleague who though works for a competitor (see eyes rolling cause I really don’t have those), is a dear friend, an advocate for the recovering and an amazing lady.
Little Camiyah, 18 months, was tragically killed in an auto accident on Thanksgiving.
As I prepared my remarks, never doing the funeral of a child before, I sought some counsel and got some excellent direction from some trusted friends and mentors including my mama.
And while deeply sad, I was able to share the TRUTH that Camiyah was with Jesus. Indisputable. And to be able to paint that picture to offer that hope that resonates from 1 Thessalonians 4 was for me heartening and I pray for the family, reassuring. My mama even gave me a wonderful poem to share, you will find it here. https://aislingjenningsphotography.wordpress.com/tag/spending-christmas-with-jesus-christ/
But I want to share something else from this heart-breaking situation.
Camiyah’s mama is in recovery. She will boldly cop to that. So, I am not breaking any anonymity my AA/NA friends, she is quite proud of it. And as I mentioned, grandma works in my field as one of the outreach team at Brightview Health.
Now why share this. Here is why.
Camiyah donated some of her organs to others in need.
From what I was told, her heart went to a child down south. Her liver to another one in need, a kidney as well. But it is the second kidney’s destination that will make you pause. In fact, when the story was shared, I immediately thought of this promise.
To all who mourn he will give…a joyous blessing – (From Isaiah 61:3 (NLT)
The second kidney if you can imagine went to a grandma and not just any grandma but a grandma who was mobilized into caring for her grandchildren following the death of her daughter to, wait for it, drug overdose.
I can’t make that up.
Remember, mama’s in recovery and grandma serves the recovering community, dealing with overdose and hurt every day. And yet GOD offered this blessing amid the mourning. Hope for another through their tears.
I found that to be remarkable and inspiring.
In fact, I didn’t know this story until I after I had penned my talk. And yet within my talk I shared that I was believing that Jesus had already paused to show Camiyah the other kids she had helped not knowing that that population was much bigger than I had originally thought.
Think about that for a second.
Four lives suffering through tragedy of their own given the gift of their grandma. So, while we can’t bring Camiyah back, Camiyah has been multiplied in amazing ways.
I found that story while paradoxical to offer a comforting assurance. And it reminded me of this quote from Charles Swindoll, “If God gave such forethought into your birth (see PSALM 139) and designing your body, surely, He’s given no less attention to your future.”
…Even when we don’t fully understand it.
RIP little Camiyah.
I love you all!
Have a BLESSED DAY!
Opportunities for Hope
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