A Grieving Mom

Our next visit was with a grandmother and her beautiful granddaughters. I was perplexed over how she brushed off my comments on how beautiful the girls were. We spent some time playing with the girls and then we settled in for conversation with the grandmother. She immediately began crying and sharing with us about how her son had died a year ago. She was now caring for his children, and it saddened my heart to realize that because of her intense pain, these children were causing her pain instead of comfort.

She pointed to pictures of gods that were hanging outside her house. She talked of how her son had purchased these, but that they had been unable to help him. It was heartbreaking to see her grieving as if he had just died, even though it had been a year.

We shared with her that our God understands that pain of losing a son, and that He is the One who can begin to heal her heart. We shared that not only did God experience the loss of a son, but that He chose to give up His son, so that we could be forgiven of our sins and live with Him forever.

When we were done sharing, we asked if we could pray for her right then. Our translator said that she was afraid for us to pray because of past experiences with witchdoctors. Our team silently prayed for her as our translator continued to talk with her and offer her comfort.

My heart remains heavy for this grieving mother. Please pray that she will open her heart to allow God to cleanse her from her sin and heal her broken heart. Pray that she will be able to love and comfort her son's children and not push them away. Pray that this will be a family that will stand on the hope of Christ. Pray that she will realize that our God is unlike those powerless gods that her family has placed their hope in.