“His grace is sufficient." ~ 2
Corinthians 12:8
Her mind rolled like the ocean -
calm on the surface yet so many dangerous undercurrents. Today marked 30 days – of waiting, of hoping,
of praying … desperately.
An auto accident had left her 23-year-old son comatose in
the ICU across the hall. Yet she
remained positive and stoic. During
brief visitations, Camilla whispered calm reassurance to her unconscious
boy. There was no sign that he could
hear her, but she never gave up.
Her devotion was interrupted by a loud wailing that pierced
the eerie silence. The air was so
brittle it could snap. Whose life just
changed forever? Who’d received the
fatal news now?
But that wasn’t the case.
This was another mother; another frantic, exhausted soul who cried out
in pure misery; seeing reality for what it is.
“Why? Why?” she
sobbed as a nurse led her to a chair.
Everyone’s eyes turned her way.
Another visitor gently reached out to pat her hand and console her. “Don’t worry.
He’ll be alright.”
That exacerbated her cries.
“No! Don’t say that! Enough!
Please let him die now; he can’t take this anymore.” Startled gasps filled the waiting area -
loud enough to reach her; further igniting her raging furor.
“I shock you, do I?
What do you know? What do you
know about how much he suffers every day for the past three years? Every day a battle … every breath a
struggle. You can sit there and judge
me, but if you had only an ounce of compassion, you’d join my pleas. Let him die now!”
The agony in her voice seared every listener in the
room. No-one wanted to hear more
details. No-one wanted to answer the
questions that arose in their minds about themselves.
For the first time in months, a crack appeared in Camilla’s
controlled veneer. Her pallor went
grey. Pity, disgust, anger – they all
left the visible trace of an unpleasant frown.
But as she continued watching helpless tears flow, she began to change.
She was gripped by the woman’s pain. One mother to another ...one soul
understanding another.
A single tear appeared at the corner of Camilla’s eye. She didn’t wipe it away. Moving slowly, she went sat beside the
weeping lady. In one empathetic look
they exchanged stories of a lifetime.
Steeling her trembling voice, Camilla extended both hands
and said, “Come, let’s pray. I’ve prayed
for my son to live and you – for your son to die. But God has been trying to take mine away and
keep yours alive. Perhaps we’re not
hearing His answer. So, let’s change our
prayers today.”
“Let us pray for His boundless grace. Let us pray for the strength we need
today. And let us pray that His will be
done in our lives.”
Lord, thank you for Your abundant, abounding
grace. Thank You that we don't have to
earn a drop of the mighty river of grace that flows freely for us today. Help me put myself in the path of Your love
and grace. Amen
