This is the love of Christ at work firsthand.
If you are reading this on February 13th, consider this your gentle reminder to grab the candy, the flowers, or whatever sweet treat might delight the people you love tomorrow. Valentine’s Day has a way of sneaking up on us, as it certainly did with me this week when all of the fun (but intricate) school projects, cards, boxes and treats were suddenly due! But while we may exchange chocolates and handwritten notes, I cannot help but think about another kind of love this year… A love that feels deeper, steadier, and far more sustaining. A love I witnessed so vividly during my recent trip to Liberia over Thanksgiving.
Her name is Surprise! Many of you have seen her face shared since my trip, but not many have heard her story…
She is five years old and was admitted to the inpatient ward at the Jesus Loves Me Children’s Center while we were there for congestive heart failure. I am not medical, and I will not attempt to explain the intricacies of her diagnosis or long term care, but I can tell you about her spirit. I can tell you about the way her joy filled the inpatient ward before her strength ever fully returned. I can tell you how stopping by her bed became the place you would most often find our team throughout the week!
When we first met her, she was on oxygen and so, so weak. We were limited in what we could do with her, so we brought toys to her bedside and made up simple games. A few of the girls on our team taught her their own version of a ‘Parent Trap’ style handshake (if you know, you know!!) and before long that became a daily thing.
A few days into her stay, I could tell her personality was returning before her full strength had. She wanted to play house. She wanted to “baby wear.” If you are a mom in the States, you know the carriers I’m talking about…that tie, clip, or strap into place so we can look down at their face but still have two hands to do whatever we have (or want) to do. In Liberia, women wrap their babies in lappa cloth and secure them close on their backs. And here was Surprise, oxygen tubing freshly taken off from beneath her nose, asking to carry a stuffed animal like a baby on her back. Our tender nurses wrapped lappa cloth around her small torso and tucked a stuffy securely against her back. There she sat in her hospital bed, smiling, playing mom like any five year old girl would.
While her name is common in Liberia, it doesn’t feel ordinary to me. It struck me again that God does not see her as a diagnosis. He does not see her as a struggling heart. He sees His daughter. Psalm 103 reminds us that the Lord is merciful and gracious, abounding in steadfast love, and that He knows our frame. He remembers that we are dust. He knows every hair on her head. He knows every detail of her heart, both physical and spiritual.
As the week went on, her giggle grew louder. After high fives, she started thumping her chest in laughter, and we all joined in. It became our thing. And even in the moment, it was not lost on me that this little girl with what many would call a ‘bad heart’ was pointing to the very place that gave her connection and joy!
Pray for Surprise and her journey ahead.
On our final day before flying home, Katie, our incredible missionary, suggested we end our trip with a prayer walk. We counted off by five, broke into small groups, and began meandering across the compound, praying over the people and places that make up the work there.
Our group first walked up the hill to His Safe Haven. Before entering, we paused to pray, and as we stepped inside, we met the man who washes the laundry there. He asked us to pray for his little boy. As we circled up, another employee quietly joined our circle. There was no announcement, just a desire to be covered in prayer. From there we prayed over many areas within those 22 acres…the palava hut where we gathered to each lunch but was once the founding spot where we saw sick children before the hospital was built…the kitchen where Dennis and his team prepare meals for hundreds each day…down to the hospital porch where mothers, babies, nurses, and doctors walk every single day.
One prayer remains front-of-mind. We were able to pray over Amos, one of our land keepers who lives at His Safe Haven and is deaf. If you have ever met Amos, you know his joy. He waves with excitement and reaches quickly for a handshake or hug. Zach pulled him close as we prayed. We know Amos could not hear our words, but we also know that the Spirit of God is not limited by hearing or language. Ephesians 3 speaks of being strengthened with power through His Spirit in our inner being so that we might comprehend the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. That love surpasses sound. It surpasses understanding. It surpasses barriers.
Just over an hour later, as we were walking back up the hill to pack the trucks and leave for the airport, Amos found us. He gathered fellow coworkers and brought us back so we could pray over them too before we left. That is the love of our Father. It transcends culture, language, diagnosis, and even deafness so that His children can come together and call on His name.
This is why we lean in. Not because it is convenient, and not because it always makes sense on paper, but because the love of Christ compels us. Whether you advocate, give, pray, host, or share, you are participating in a love story that stretches from Georgia to Bong County. You are extending the same love that wrapped lappa cloth around Surprise’s small torso and strengthened her laughter. You are participating in the same love that stirred Amos to gather his coworkers for prayer.
Tomorrow we may exchange heart shaped candies and handwritten cards, but the truest love we celebrate is far deeper. Romans 8 reminds us that nothing in all of creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. He loves you with that kind of steadfastness. He loves Surprise with that kind of tenderness. He loves Amos with that kind of nearness. And He invites us to both receive it and extend it.
So this Valentine’s Day, may you bask in the love of our Father. May you remember that you are fully known and fully loved. And may that love move you to lean in, to pray boldly, to give generously, and to live open handed. We are better together because we are first loved by Him!
-Caroline Reedy
