As I write this post I am thinking specifically about Diane. I wrote about this weary, young mother once before around 3 months ago. You can get caught up on her story here. A brief summary is: she is a young mother (I think she is 24) of 5 who has struggled to keep her children in a good environment. She has a job now, but comes to us once or twice a week and asks for bus tokens. We listen to her and try to provide some form of advice and comfort. There is usually some kind of extreme circumstance going on - sickness, lack of food, social services taking the kids because of poor living conditions, husband getting injured at work site, etc. The main thing the last several months has been the health of one of her twin girls, Pamela. She is sick with cancer. It is easy to perceive that Diane doesn't understand the seriousness of the situation, due to her lack of education, but she trying.
When I think about the brief summary above I think, "how could it possibly get any worse? This seems like a bad made-for-TV movie." But it is real. It is very real.
Now it is time to share the most recent hardship of Diane. About a week ago she came to our house. Normally, Jennifer speaks with her, but she wasn't home. So, I went out to visit with her. I could tell something was wrong. She told me that her 58 year old father had died. He had diabetes and pretty much drank himself to death. Although she is only 24 she is the oldest sibling, so she was in charge of the funeral arrangements (her mother had already passed away). Can you imagine being 24, the mother of 5, about to be the mother of all your younger siblings (ages 3 to 20 or so) and in charge of your father's funeral arrangements? I can't. I talked with Diane for a while and gave her some bus tokens so that she could go and take care of her family.
A few days later we saw her and she proceeded to tell us the following: she left her twin girls (they are 5 or 6 years old I think - remember, one has cancer) with their godmother for a couple of days while all this stuff is going on with her dad's funeral and trying to figure out what to do with all the siblings. She sent someone to pick up the twins, but the godmother wouldn't let them leave. This is a major inconvenience since they are poor and have to spend more bus tokens going back and forth, etc. When Diane went to get the girls, the godmother and the girls were gone. Just gone. Kidnapped. Apparently, the godmother took off with the girls with no intention of giving them back. So, Diane started trying to track them down. Somehow she found out that they went to a neighboring town. She went to the police who told her to wait 42 hours. She came to us asking for more bus passes so she could go to this town. We told her to let the police handle it and to try to stay calm. What else was there to do? I can't even imagine what she was going through. I kept telling myself "maybe it is all just a big, BIG mix up. Bad communication. Maybe the godmother messed up the days or... I don't know!"
We found out just today that Diane went to an old employer and asked for help making flyers with the girl's picture. Very smart. They posted the flyers all over the town where they thought the girls and the godmother were. Someone saw the flyer and recognized the girls. They called to notify Diane. Then someone else saw a flyer at a bus stop while the girls and the godmother were standing there waiting for a bus. They called Diane immediately. Diane, the ex-employer and the ex-employer's son (a lawyer) went to the bus stop. Luckily (thanks to God) they were still there. They were about to head to another state! Unbelievable! Diane probably just had a matter of minutes before her girls would have been on a bus leaving the city. Diane has her girls now and the godmother has been arrested.
Can you believe all this? It is so difficult for me to wrap my mind around this kind of turmoil. I have been stressed about our upcoming move, but frankly I confess that my biggest complaint lately has been the problems we are having with our high-speed internet and our phone. We have no problems! None!
I wrote this post because my heart goes out to Diane. I know the Lord's heart goes out to Diane too. He longs to save the lost, the down trodden, the broken. He has a heart for the suffering. She is the definition of suffering that only Jesus can heal. There are so many scriptures that could come to mind when I think of Diane's life, but only one really hits me right now.
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:28-31
Diane needs to trust in the Lord for the strength that only He can provide. I pray that He would give me and Jennifer the wisdom and discernment to know how to minister to this hurting soul and to allow His Spirit to work through us to bring her comfort and rest in Him.
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