Laced With Grace

This Easter weekend I’ve been dramatically reminded of the extreme sacrifice of some gifts.

There are gifts that are special because the giver spent countless hours hand crafting the gift or perhaps gave a unique, one of a kind gift. I call gifts like that legacy or keepsake gifts.  The grateful recipient treasures the gift and loves to tell the story about the giver.

Other gifts  are special because they are sacrificial and a high price was paid for it.  The humble recipient acknowledges they could never pay the price for such a generous gift and they’re forever grateful to the gift giver.

This week, a precious little three year old girl named Sarah became a part of my world. I knew of her, she’s my son-in-law’s great niece, but I’d never met her. Having a sweet three year old granddaughter myself, the story of Sarah’s Gift has pierced my soul.

Friday night, Sarah started having seizures. A trip to the local emergency room revealed a possible burst aneurism in her brain. She was transferred to a specialty hospital where she was placed on life support. As the weekend progressed, tests confirmed a parent’s worse nightmare – no brain wave activity.  After much excruciating deliberation among all the family members present, the decision was made to discontinue the life support.  Her parents, grandparents and other family members said their emotional goodbyes.

Blood and tissue samples were then taken and the search begin.  Who would receive Sarah’s Gift?

Monday, my daughter and son-in-law represented the family and watched as Sarah’s tiny body was transferred to a gurney with a transportable life support system attached. They walked with Sarah towards the operating room where medical teams from 4 states   would make all the necessary preparations to give Sarah’s Gift.

Into the night Monday night and early Tuesday, 6 children, 6 families received the miracle they had been praying for.

Sarah’s Gift was unique and came at great cost.  In her death, 6 little children have a new chance at life.

Later this week Sarah will be buried, and the family will continue to grieve and mourn her loss. But is she really lost when we know she’s with Jesus?  Yes, those who know her and love her are broken hearted and will think of her every day of their lives.  A void will be present that no one or nothing else can ever fill, but praise God for the resurrection!  Because of Christ’s sacrificial death, His burial and His resurrection, we can know with full assurance that Sarah is safely home in the arms of God-the ultimate Gift Giver.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  John 3:16

The social worker explained that in a few short weeks the family will hear from the gift recipient families and learn a little more about the children that received Sarah’s Gift. May her family find comfort in knowing that Sarah lives on not only in the lives of these 6 children, but she lives on in the presence of God Himself, the Giver of All Life.

Life is precious. Give those you love an extra hug tonight and thank God for the gift of  life.

This is one of my personal favorite hymns for Good Friday/Easter; beautifully performed by Selah.

See you at the empty cross on Resurrection Sunday.

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
~ Zechariah 9:9 (ESV)

For years I thought about the people who stood by the road when Jesus came riding to Jerusalem on a colt. I was always surprised that some of the cheerers became jeerers 5 days later. Or was it out of frustration that they turned they backs on Jesus?

“And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” ~ Mark 11:8-10 (ESV)

You see, Jerusalem was not in the hands of the Jewish people; but occupied by Rome. As Mark recorded in his Gospel, the crowd was cheering for the coming kingdom of David. Why would their deliverer come on a donkey and not with an army?

Zechariah had prophesied the coming of a king; he even mentioned that the king would come humble. Unfortunately the Jewish people missed that Jesus was not a King of an earthly kingdom; but a kingdom that is everlasting.

Fortunately for us, Jesus’ ride to Jerusalem was not only for the Jewish people, but for all man-kind. Most of the people at Jesus’ time rejected the cornerstone that came from God. They were blind to the work of God; sending His one and only Son to take the sin of the world to the cross.

Many people today turned into jeerers of Jesus and the cross. They mock the power of the cross and its redemptive work. People think that if they do enough good works, they will enter heaven with their own power. Make no mistake; without Jesus there is no way into heaven.

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
~ 1 Corinthians 1:18-19 (ESV)

Instead of mocking the cross, cheer; the victory is already won by the humble King who rode into Jerusalem on the back of a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Lord of Heaven and Earth. Thank You for taking our sins to the cross. Lord, thank You for the Your ride to Jerusalem and Your redemptive work on the cross. Help us to share the power of the cross this Easter season. In the precious name of Jesus ~ Amen.

Photo & Content Copyright © Iris Nelson