A gentle, quiet voice
A few hours ago, a sister from the church in London passed away. Sister May had been fighting against COVID-19 for the past month and was hospitalised four weeks ago. She leaves behind her husband Alex and their young son Joshua. It is hard to have words that feel adequate, but I wanted to share a few.
First, I just cannot imagine what it would be like to not be part of the Body of Christ at this moment. I don’t know what it is like to be alone – because I am not alone. Not only do I have the Lord, I have all the saints. I am not sorrowful alone, I know this sorrow is being borne in the Body. I know that the bountiful supply of the Spirit and the peace of Christ that surpasses all understanding is flowing from the Head, Christ, to and through the many members of His Body.
This past month, I have witnessed the Lord growing in the suffering and praying saints, building us together, and gaining more ground in our being. I don’t know if I’ve ever sensed the oneness in the Body in such a deep way before. My experience these few weeks hasn’t been to pray in a loud way, but somewhat in a quiet way, uttering genuine words to the Lord. And somehow, the Lord’s still and gentle presence has been there each time and all the time.
And [God] said, Go out, and stand upon the mountain before Jehovah. And suddenly Jehovah passed by, and a great, strong wind rent the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before Jehovah — Jehovah was not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake — Jehovah was not in the earthquake.
1 Kings 19:11-12
And after the earthquake, a fire — Jehovah was not in the fire. And after the fire, a gentle, quiet voice.
It has touched me that the whole church in London, the church in Cambridge, and so many saints in many places have had this sister and her family on their heart. As well as praying, I’ve been hearing of the outpouring of practical and spiritual shepherding and support for our brother Alex and Joshua during this time. As a result, I see God’s family more now.
Our Father sovereignly arranged so many things so that our sister and our brother were not alone at this time. When I met them some 12 years ago, they lived in a part of London where you needed to take public transport to reach their home. But now their home is walking distance from the homes of many saints, including my parents. I remember being in their home and May had made a peppermint swiss roll – I loved it. And another time, she made Bak Kwa, one of my favourite foods from Singapore. I am sad that there will not be more opportunities to see May at a conference and give her a hug. But I am thankful to the Lord for the times I did spend with this quiet, gentle, and warm sister in Christ.
I am also thankful for the Lord’s care through all the members of the Body around this family – the sisters who could (safely) drop off meals for the family, the sister who works at the hospital that May was first admitted to, the doctor at the specialist hospital who is a believer, the brothers who called Alex every day to pray, the brothers who drove Alex to the hospital in the middle of the night to visit May, the sisters in Cambridge who could do a food drop off at the hospital today, for child care for Joshua, and for all the praying saints around the globe – on Zoom, on WhatsApp, and over the phone. Thank You Lord.
I fully trust that the Lord will continue to care for this family in the coming days, weeks, months, and years. Amen, do Lord. May Your presence be with them today and every day, and keep them so vitally connected to the saints so that the river of the divine life continues to flow so richly in both directions.
This became too long for a Facebook message, so I’ll be sharing this on my website. I’d like to end with this hymn, which was playing as I began to write this:
Turn my view to see You,
Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JSwwAALXLo
How I need to see Jesus!!
Though I don’t understand
The ways that You take;
Lord, make me
A babe and suckling always praising.
Enjoying Your worth day by day.
Let each experience constitute me
So Your life I’ll display
In every way.
Someone forwarded this to a group I am in, and I want to express my thanks for what you have written.
The small quiet members are sometimes missed by most, but perhaps are the most visible to the Lord. I didn’t know May well, but we would always exchange a few words when we saw each other.
It matters greatly to Lord concerning Alex and Joshua now. I am thankful to the Lord that Alex has firsthand experience of the deep and overwhelming love of the Lord, through the care of the members.
I have experienced this also and one can do nothing in the face of it except be thankful and learn to be a ‘member’.
A sister in the grace of God
A deep touch from the Lord as a sister May who was a true family member to many, went to be with the Lord, Amen, it is too much to take for us so we can only endure and hide in the Lord Jesus. Dear Lord Jesus comfort the family, comfort Alex and little Joshua. Amen.
Touched by your sharing regarding our sister and her dear family. I agree that this is a time when we can only thank and praise the Lord for each member of the Body, for making us members and learn to pray and intercede for one another. May the Lord comfort and supply Joshua and Alex during this time and outpour a special supply of grace to them.