He Gives and Takes

Yesterday, the Lord took a precious little girl in Ch1na home. Tiffany (or Mei-Mei as she was called) was the treasured little sponsor child of my friend Kaisha's, and a housemate of little Margaret's at Shepherd's Field Children's Village. She suffered from a very serious, inoperable heart condition. When we met precious Mei Mei in July, we knew from her short gasps for air and painful movement that, apart from a miracle, she probably would not make it much longer. Even so, we never expected that the close to her short life would be so soon. She left a deep mark in all of our hearts and it's hard to even imagine Samaritan's House without her. Her smile touched us so much and we will forever love and miss her deeply.

Even while crying over this loss, though, God has brought to my mind so many gifts of His to us all over these past many months. While He has taken Tiffany from us on earth, He has given her and all of us so very much:
-He gave Tiffany the opportunity to bless so many visitors and staff at SFCV and impact hearts and lives
-He mercifully gave Kaisha and I the opportunity to meet both Margaret and Tiffany this summer while they were both still at SFCV
-He provided homes for both of our precious girls within the span of one week (Mei-Mei, we trust, went to be in her heavenly home yesterday and Margaret will meet her parents on the 21st)
-He blessed Tiffany with a loving home at PHF for her short life, surrounded by ayis, doctors, and staff who poured their hearts into caring for her as best they could and giving her the most wonderful life they could
-He has now given Tiffany freedom from her suffering and pain

So, even with all the pain and grief that Mei-Mei's passing brings, we have to echo Job's words in Job 1:21: "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." God is still God and He is still perfectly good and sovereign, even though we wish we could have seen the beautiful eyes and smiling face of this precious little girl again on earth. We will always love and miss you, sweet Tiffy girl!



First photo courtesy of Dawn Greer Choate: www.healinghannah.org. Last photo taken by Sara Zhou at SFCV.