Ephesians 5:1-2
“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Every Wednesday my team and I visit the Kijabe hospital to minister and encourage patients in various wards. Last Wednesday, I had the privilege to meet a young mother, Miriam, and her son Erick. Erick has been experiencing stomach problems since he was nine months old, and since then, he has been in and out of hospitals visiting with various doctors trying to determine the cause of his sickness. Through conversation, I learned that Miriam was the sole provider for her son-no father was in the picture. After learning that Miriam was a Christian, I got the opportunity to encourage through with scripture and prayer. I only got to spend an hour with her and Erick, but I promised her that I would be back next Wednesday to hang out some more.
This past Thursday I heard through other team members that Erick was still in the hospital so I made it a point to go to the pediatric ward and visit. I got to the ward and was about to enter the room where Erick’s bed was located, but much to my dismay I saw a different lady with two children whom I didn’t recognize. I almost turned around to leave but thought that maybe I should just check the rest of the rooms to make sure. I got to the very end of the hallway and decided that maybe Erick had been discharged early. As I turned around to walk back I was stopped by a young boy named John (the older brother of Paul who I believed has been blogged about by others). John asked me if I was looking for somebody. I explained to him my situation and he informed me that Miriam had to go out of Kijabe for the afternoon but that her sister Lucy was visiting and staying with Erick.
I got the chance to meet Lucy and her two young children: six year old Victor and 16 month old Vanessa. Through conversation, Lucy explained to me that Victor was deaf and had been this way since birth. She told me that because of financial restraints and lack of proper schooling, Victor couldn’t communicate through sign language or any kind of speech. I didn’t think much of it until I got the chance to play with Victor one-on-one outside on the playground. Little did I know just how much God was moving.
Victor playing on the slide
Victor is like any other six year old boy. He loves to run, swing on swings, laugh, and slide down slides. I quickly learned that the only way I could communicate God’s love to him was through my facial expressions, body language, and actions. I immediately noticed how freeing it was not to talk but to simply smile and laugh and attempt to show Victor that, despite his impairment, he is a child of God and is loved no less than any other person. For about thirty minutes I swung on the swings with him, slid down the slide, taught him how to give a “high five”, and even taught him part of a hand clapping game. After awhile I could tell Victor was tired so, in complete silence, he took my hand and we walked together back to Erick’s room.
Throughout all of this, God spoke to me in the most unexpected way. I remember hearing a voice saying “Denise, this is what I want you to do when you get back from Africa. Go and work with deaf children and reveal to them my love in ways that they can understand. Show them how they are no different from others despite what the world says.” I must say I was floored. God moves in ways we can’t even imagine, and I never imagined that God would use a six year old boy to show me what God wants me to pursue-how refreshing! It’s quite hard to put into words the emotions Victor conjured up in me, but I knew that God was using him to reveal to me a complete different way of sharing God’s love with others.
Normally when I write blogs I like to tie in stories with a scripture. However, as I was flipping through the Bible, no immediate verses came to my mind that talk about how actions can speak louder than words. It then hit me. God showed love in the greatest way imaginable-not by necessarily speaking or preaching, but by sending His son to earth for all of us. Christ revealed to the world God’s love through the ultimate sacrifice of giving up his life. In America, the story of Jesus dying on the cross is well known, and many people automatically tune it out when it’s brought up in conversation. John 3:16 is so engrained in the minds of so many individuals yet how often do we ACTUALLY sit down, think about what exactly Christ did while on earth? Victor will only ever know what love means by how others act around him and towards him. In the same way, many people will only know of God’s love by truly grasping the length He went to display his love for all nations.
