We received a text message early this morning that Ms. Elizabeth died. She was one of our angel food recipients. She has been sick for several weeks with kidney failure, pnemonia and a host of other health issues. Her son and daughters have faithfully visited her at St. Vincents, though we learned last night, she was heavily medicated and incoherent the majoirty of her hospital stay. Not sure if she was able to communicate to her children the vastness of her love for them before she died. She is with Jesus now with no more pain and no more sorrow.
Ms. Elizabeth and her family were on a food distributor’s route. For seven months, she refused to let this family into her world. They would open the door, grab the food box and close it. The family went month after month wondering if they were wasting their time. At month seven, she asked them, “why do you keep coming to my house, I have only been rude to you and done everything I could to make you not want to come back.” After they talked and she realized the sincerity of their love for them, she began to open up and have a friendship with them.
As the friendship developed, she began to come to all the community gatherings. She came to the fourth of July day at Homewood Park and the baptism in Helena. She came to everything and visited and laughed and, I hope, felt like family to all of us.
At another Homewood Park picnic, months later from the July 4th picnic, I was able to visit with her for quite a while and she shared with me some of her life. She had four children, all under the age of three, and the youngest only two weeks old, when her husband left and never came back. She spent the next almost 20 years fighting to provide and sustain life for those four precious children. She worked hard to teach them not to be bitter at him and to forgive him for abandoning them. Even that day at the picnic, they were still angry and she was telling me how much she wanted them to be able to forgive as it would help them heal and not be depressed and sad and angry. We read some scripture together about forgiveness and how Christ forgives us so we also must forgive those who sin against us. I remember seeing her face and knowing she really had forgiven this man for walking away. She never knew why he left or if she had done something to offend him.
She then shared about her battle with depression over those years and about the love and support her children had given her. She had gained weight and the doctors had encouraged her to lose weight to protect her life and she credited her children for helping her lose the weight she needed to be able to survive. She shared funny stories of how they kept her from eating and how they brought joy to her when she was angry and frustrated by her circumstance.
Another thing we learned is that she did not feel welcome in an insitutional church because people made fun of her because of how she looked. After many months, she realized the love from her distribution team and the rest of Grace Klein Community was genuine. She embraced these new friendships and to the best of my knowledge, felt welcome and included. She was able to study the Word and worship the Lord with her Grace Klein friends.
My heart is heavy for the Ms. Elizabeth’s of this world and I am so thankful that God gave us the privilege of knowing her and being a part of her life. I hope in simple ways, God used our community to bring joy, hope and encouragement to a lady He loves and adores. She is valuable and precious and loved and I pray God used her distribution family and the other friends of Grace Klein Community to help her understand more of HIM and feel special in her last days.
She teaches us…
endure in the hardest of journeys
love our kids well
be patient in affliction
we can trust again
forgive, forgive again, and again
don’t complain
be thankful
invest in people now
share the Gospel
be transparent
listen
Thank you Lord for Ms. Elizabeth’s life and be with her children in the days ahead. Help us to love this family well so that all they see is Jesus. Comfort them and give them peace. Provide for the funeral arrangements as well. We thank you for the opportunity to know this precious family and that You allowed them to let us into their world. We love You and trust You for what is next. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.