An End to Sorrow.
Last Tuesday when I walked into the office, Randy asked me, “So what’s the verdict about the weekend?” He was wondering if I had decided how I would get down to San Diego for my sister’s baptism. But the previous day, my sister and I had decided that since we had only just found out about the baptism, it would cost far too much. One week’s notice is not enough time to book a flight! The next time her church was having a baptism would be June 2005, but there was no other choice, we had to wait.
But then Randy told me that he had explained my delimma to my fall mission teammates. And he told me that many of those folks had made offers to make a way for me to get home. They were gonna pay for my flight!! I was speechless. Words couldn’t even begin to describe how floored I was by such an unexpected gift. It was hard to hold back the tears of awe that morning.
When I called my sister and told her to get ready to be baptized this weekend because I was coming home, she was so shocked and so delighted. I could feel her smiling though we were millions of miles away. I told her what my team had done and said, “I guess God really wants you to get baptized” and choked on my words. When I got off the phone, I ran to the bathroom.
It was like a dam had broken. In the midst of the sobs, a Bible verse began to echo in my head, ”The Lord will be your everlasting light and your days of sorrow will end…” It felt like God had taken His big arms and wrapped it all around me and whispered those words in my ears. Your days of sorrow have come to an end.
It was about this time last year that I had found out that my sister had eloped with her boyfriend — the one that my parents and I did not like. At that point, they had already been married for a whole year! The feelings of hurt, betrayal, anger and pain seared through the heart of our family. And every day that passed, things seemed to get worse. It wasn’t long after that, we found out my sister was pregnant. And soon after that, it became more than apparent that her husband was not ready to be a husband or a father.
It was an awful time.
And while I wondered, “God, how can you make good come out of this?” He was in the works of doing just that very thing.
I remember very clearly one night in the midst of all the anguish, my sister said to me, “I used to have God as a side thing. But now I know He is and has to be Everything.”
My sister had become a Christian a few years prior. It was the answer to many anxious, sleepless nights of desperate prayers on my part on her behalf. “Oh Lord,” I prayed so long ago, “I think the biggest miracle you could ever do is make my sister become a Christian. The problem is… deep down inside, I don’t really believe you can do it. Please prove me wrong, God. Take my unbelief and slam it in my face.” And He did.
But the subsequent years were a struggle. It seemed like she would be really excited about God for a few months at a time, and then turn around and go right back into the world. The most confusing for me was when after a whole year of having amazing Bible studies with her, she started dating a nonChristian guy. He was raised Catholic, but I knew that despite his devotion to the Church, he did not have a personal, transformational relationship with Jesus Christ. I did not want her to date him. But she did. And then she married him.
Even though that whole year that she was secretly married, I did not know, I could sense that something had altered in my sister. Something was wrong. I could no longer talk to her. It didn’t seem like God was in her life.
But in actually, God is always in our lives, always sovereign, always moving us toward Himself for His greater glory – even if we don’t see it and don’t invite Him. My sister finally broke down and told us because the guilt of the deception had become too overwhelming. God had convicted her, and at last, she had chosen to walk in the Light!
That was when things began to really change. She was being put through fire, and she was turning into purified gold. As the situation with her husband became agonizing, painful, unsafe, and unbearable, she really learned what it means to cling to Christ for Life. And she learned, also, what it means to be loved and protected by Him.
My sister testified recently, “The good news is, I am feeling great about walking in the light, walking with Jesus and listening to God’s commands and promises.”
There are many other things that have happened since then – including the birth of Joshua, who has become true to his name for our family – “a healer”. God has used the gift of his life to bring a sort of healing between my father and my sister — and to our entire family.
My sister’s baptism seals the deal. She has made a choice to follow Jesus, and blessings are sure to follow.
So this past weekend, I got to go home! It was my first time home in 2 months – my longest time away. It was the most dreamy sorts of weekends I have ever had. I had quality conversations with my mom, dad, sister and nephew. And best of all, I got to sit next to my parents in a worship service — their first service ever!! And, yes, they also attended my sister’s baptism!
Someday, I believe, they too will be the ones who will get dunked. 
Here’s my sister making a public declaration that Jesus is wonderful!! =)
Amen to that!!!
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