>Thanks for praying for our friends. Their daughter passed away this afternoon with her entire family by her side. Obviously everyone was sad, but as we sat in that hospital room with them, I was really amazed by the amount of peace and joy that filled the room. Their daughter’s broken body, ravaged by disease, was still there in the bed, yet all they could talk about was how excited she must be to finally be in the arms of Jesus. To finally be in heaven with Him. To finally be able to “feast at his heavenly banquet.” She hasn’t been able to eat much of anything these past months, so there was plenty of talk around the room about all the foods she must be enjoying with her savior. They talked about how she must be dancing right now. How there is no more pain for her now. That she ran a good race and finished strong. That her life during her battle with cancer this past year has touched so many people. That she had spent her last months on earth making people laugh, reminding them that God loves them and inspiring them with her fighting spirit.

I am so incredibly sad for this family. For these parents who watched their daughter pass on before their eyes. For the two young adults who lost their sister today. For the friends who had to say goodbye. Everyone will move on, but no before some serious, painful grieving. It is this grieving period that we must pray through now. We’ll pray that God will sustain this family through their grief just as he sustained their daughter through her disease. He is mindful of their pain…

This young woman’s life has left a huge mark on all of our lives. Thank you Jesus for being so evident in this situation. Thank you for not leaving our sides. Thank you for releasing Kristen from her pain, and for wrapping your arms around her. We know she is home.

I can only imagine what it will be like, when I walk by Your side…
I can only imagine, what my eyes will see, when Your Face is before me!
I can only imagine. I can only imagine.
Surrounded by Your Glory, what will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you, Jesus? Or in awe of You, be still?
Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing ‘Hallelujah!’? Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine! I can only imagine!
(-Mercy Me)

>It’s 12:18 a.m. on Sunday morning. I should be in bed, but I can’t seem to make it back to the bedroom quite yet. I’m burdened with sadness, and can’t help but feel like I need to be awake.

Our friends are at the emergency room right now, praying that their daughter will make it through tonight. She has cervical cancer (caused by HPV), and was rushed to the ER earlier this evening because she was bleeding everywhere. This young woman (early 20’s) has gone through so much in the past year or so. I can’t imagine what they’re feeling, what she’s thinking, etc.

We came to the hospital, and found her dad outside giving an update to someone on his cell phone. Once he hung up, Matt embraced him, and all this hurting father could do was cry. Sob. Meltdown. He hung on to Matt with desperation for just a few moments, and then gathered his emotions together to let us know what was happening. “This is when it sucks to be a parent,” he said.

We stuck our heads in the hospital room to say hello, but left quickly so as not to disturb anyone. The mother has been so strong through all of this. Tonight she looked tired, but stayed as calm as she could, and helped her daughter as much as possible. We hugged for a moment, and she thanked us for coming. We decided to leave, chatted with the father a little bit longer, and let him know to call us – no matter what time – if anything should change.

What do you do? What do you say to these people who are going through the toughest battle of their lives? How do you pray through something like this? I wish we could do something to make it better, but nothing I can do will heal this girl. No dish I can cook, no errand I can run, nothing I can do will make this situation better. I don’t know words to say to people who have a dying child.

I’m sad. I’m scared. I’m hurting for this family. Please join me in praying for them. They need all the help they can get right now…