Because of Jesus

Tis' the Season, right?

And so it seems only fitting to tell you a story that is still being written. A story that is changing lives. A story that starts with Jesus and will end with Jesus and is Jesus in between.

You see, we are blessed because Isaac loves Jesus. That is his decision. And on his own, he wanted to share Jesus with a friend named Kyrail. And when I say these boys pestered me to go to church together, I mean they pestered the bejeezus out of me. Because honestly, sometimes I didn't have the best attitude about being responsible for an extra child on an already stressful morning. But pester they did, and so last year around this time, we began a tradition of picking Ky up on Sunday mornings to join us at church or having him spend the night so he would already be here to go with us. And through this, we got to know Ky and his mom a little bit better. And we invited Sherena, his mom, to church with us but she never came.

Ky? He LOVED church! He would get on stage and help lead songs. He would run in giving high fives and hugs to his leaders and new friends. He was a light. He always had a smile on his face and he usually had a basketball in his hands.  The two loves of his life were sports and his mom. And he would go home and tell Sherena what he learned at church.

 

And then like life can do, everything changed in an instant and his life was taken from those who loved him.  And it was beyond horrible. There are no words to describe a woman grieving her child. No words. And the phone call I received that day will forever be etched in my brain. The keening and the longing and the heartbreak was beyond describable.

 

And in that hopeless situation, we were all asking WHY?!

 

And we don't know why.

 

But thankfully, when there are no answers, there is Jesus. 

 

And because of Jesus, Ky's story doesn't end there.

 

You see, what Satan intends for evil, God will turn to good. 

Did you hear that? 

What Satan intends for evil, GOD WILL TURN TO GOOD.

And amidst this gut wrenching grief, Sherena decided she was going to start going to the church her son loved. She comes every single week and she brings people with her because according to them, she just shows up to get them. They don't have the choice to say no. And they fill up the first two rows and she LOVES it. She says church helps her every week and she loves the music. She will often ask what a song was so she can listen to it throughout the week. That's Jesus right there. Nothing but Jesus.

And amidst all this grief and pain, an unlikely friendship has formed. You see, we are different as night and day, and without Ky, I doubt we would find ourselves sprawled out on her bed one night watching tv and talking about life and relationships and death and Jesus, always Jesus. But out of the heartbreak of an unfair world, an unlikely friendship is growing and changing me. Changing the way I look at the world.

And this new friend of mine who has become a huge blessing to me?

She has a heart of gold.

She has taught me what it means to face the unthinkable and continue to get up and carry on and love everyone around you.

These two women, mother and daughter,  who both lost their sons, grandson, and brother in that terrible wreck?

 

 

They have taught me the true meaning of laughter through tears. 

 

They miss their boys something fierce, and at times their grief threatens to engulf them, but they keep coming back to each other and to Jesus. And they're making it.

And this little light, Kyrail's baby sister, came into this world last Friday.

And oh my word people. 

I. am. in. love.

Sherena and Devin asked me to be her godmother.

 

And I'm not exactly sure what that means but I hope it means I get to spoil the snot out of her because that's what I plan to do! Spoil her and help her learn how special her brother was and teach her that because of him, Jesus lives in her family.

You see, Jesus was a gift. The Gift. And amidst a season where we are so busy we can forget the reason that we're celebrating, people like Sherena and Janice and Amajah are here to remind us that without Him, without his saving grace, without his forgiveness, without his everlasting and abundant love, life wouldn't be worth living. 

So if you can give anyone, any gift this season.

Give them Jesus.

Nothing will change their lives more.