It's with such a heavy heart that I update this blog as one of Alicia's last requests. She had such an amazing gift of writing beautiful words that completely captivated the reader. I don't have that same beautiful gift, but she still wanted me to be the one to share her final moments with all of her blog followers. I think this is because she knows I loved her and she knows that Love Never Fails.
She knew when she was obedient to God's calling to Uganda that it was not an ideal environment for her Cystic Fibrosis....I know she knew because I'm one that reminded her of it again and again. As her sister I loved her so much and feared for her health and life. I wanted to keep her here and I wanted her to stay healthy. I asked her before her first trip to Africa if she was certain it was of God since it could likely take her life. She responded that she would rather die in obedience to God than live outside of His will. She loved Him so much she was willing to die serving Him with a joyful heart. Love Never Fails.
There was a part of Alicia's life that most people didn't know about. It was the part of pain and suffering. People didn't know this because she didn't share it. She wanted to love others rather than make it all about her, so even when it hurt to breathe she still said nothing. She instead focused on who she was spending that moment with and what awesome things God was doing in their lives. She loved on them and it dulled the reality of her pain and suffering for that time. Love Never Fails.
Alicia got sick this last trip to Uganda and the plan she had put in place with her doctors to treat an exacerbation of her CF wasn't resolving the complications. I wanted her to return home a few months early to see her doctors and get her health back. She wasn't finished serving the Lord yet and didn't feel that He was leading her back to the US yet. She knew there were things God was asking of her that she hadn't had the opportunity to do and she didn't want to return until she had been obedient. She let her love for our God and His leading in her life direct her, even to a battle for her life. Love Never Fails.
I believe she knew God was calling her home, but she wasn't afraid. She loves Jesus and her heart was to serve Him with everything she had, even her last breath. What was the worst that could possibly happen by loving people the way He commanded? The worst case scenario was that it might take her life and then she'd be dancing with Jesus! She didn't fear that but looked forward to it with anticipation, embracing those that He needed her to touch with this gift of loving people the way He loved people. Love Never Fails.
When she got off the plane from Africa she had little breath left but she didn't want to give up those precious moments with her family to focus on herself. She wanted to celebrate with us with pizza and frozen yogurt and show how much she loved being with us. It was always about whoever she was with, never about herself. She loved people the way Christ loves people...selfless and sacrificial. Love Never Fails.
Alicia fought a hard fight at the end. She loved people and she loved Jesus and she wanted those people she loved to know the love of Jesus. That's what her life was all about. She fought through the pain and suffering to bring more people to Jesus by loving them the way He loves us. She had a great love for a special friend that I believe was the main reason she held out at the end. I believe she waited until she knew that this special friend, one she loved so much, personally knew the love of Jesus. She was so concerned about the eternal salvation of this friend that she held on until she had the assurance of this friend's eternal life with Jesus. This friend gave her life to Jesus with Alicia's pastor at the side of Alicia's hospital bed just hours before we placed her hand in Jesus' hand and Alicia knew that she will see this friend again. Love Never Fails.
God is good and He loved this special little servant's soul so much. His grace covered the end and He gave her an amazing passing into His presence. She had a supernatural, God given, miraculous out of body experience that day before she passed. She had no pain and was seeing the place God had prepared for her and she had supernatural, God-breathed breath to describe it to us in great detail. At one point a family member suggested that she might have been experiencing some things from too much pain medicine until her nurse confirmed that she hadn't asked for or received any since the night before. This was not from medication, but instead an amazing blessing from God. She said it was the best day of her life and she had never felt so great! God loved this precious servant so much that He took her so peacefully into His presence. Love Never Fails.
Some may ask why a loving God would allow for Alicia's pain and suffering. Pain and suffering, even death, were never part of His original design, but rather a result of sin. God's standard is His Ten Commandments, and Alicia was humble enough to know that she had broken these commandments and sinned against Him. She also knew that because God is good and just and holy, the penalty of sin is eternal separation from Him. But God IS a loving God, and because He loves us so much, He provided the payment for our sin through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus selflessly and sacrificially gave His life to pay this penalty. Alicia accepted this gift with her whole heart. She knew that if we turn from our life of sin, and come to Him just as we are, He forgives our sins and rewards us with eternal life by His side. This is where Alicia is... eternity with Him! His love for her radiated from her to all she touched. This is the same love He has for all. This is what we all saw in Alicia, and what she desired everyone to personally experience through their own loving relationship with Jesus. Love Never Fails.
~Sara Green~