Monday, August 30, 2010

One More Person

Sweet Nabakoza passed away on Wednesday. That she survived as long as she did in the care of Auntie Renee is a miracle in itself. A miracle that blessed Nabakoza with twelve days full of love, tenderness and comfort. Her first time experiencing these affections and God gave her twelve days when she medically should have only lasted about 48 hours.

I want to share with you something Renee wrote to Nabakazo on her blog:

 My heart hurts for the hard life you had to live, but your pain was not in vain my friend. Because of you hearts are being stirred, God is calling out a people who desire to bring about change in this world. You made a difference in this world, Nabakoza! You matter. It’s a privilege and an honor to call you my friend, my sister. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your life even for a short time. Thank you for forever changing mine. I love and miss you. See you at the golden gates…

Starvation has a face and a name for me now. And in comparison the the value of a life, of Nabakazo's life, the things I spend my money on are such a waste. I am so grateful that God brought me to Nabakazo's story. Because for the past couple of weeks, when I've wanted to buy something frivolous, I've thought of Nabakazo - even when I didn't want to. When I wanted to make pretty seat cushion for our dining room or buy a new watch, Nabakazo's face popped into my mind along with others who I don't know names or faces of, but who could be saved if I would give more. How many people could have had clean water or food if I had given the money I spent on that new shirt, or the cute picture frame or the adorable hair accessory? It is certainly a challenging thought and one that I plan to start acting on.

I ask that you'll watch a short clip from the movie Schindler's List. I hope that it will challenge all of us to consider what one person's life is worth. (In case you're not familiar with the story, Oskar Schindler was a member of the Nazi party who, during WWII, hired nearly 1200 Jewish workers in order to save then from the concentration camps.)

Friends, I know that we can't save everyone. But we can save some. We can save more.


(if video doesn't play, please click here)

"I knew the people who worked for me... When you know people, you have to behave towards them like human beings." - Oskar Schindler



3 comments:

  1. Thank you, Jen. I bookmarked Nabakoza's story to read. And I need to watch Schindler's List again.

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  2. Good words. I was going to write about her today on my blog. I cried when I had heard that she died. I cried when I read renees letter to her too.

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  3. Wow. Tears are streaming down my face from that video clip. When he started talking about all the money he wasted and questioning why he hadn't sold his car to make money to save more lives. At the end of my life I know I will be crying that I could have done so much more for God.

    And yet I am still unwilling to loosen my grasp on the things that make my life easier, prettier, more enjoyable. I have been convicted lately of my need to have a more consistent prayer life. I believe that prayer is releasing the Holy Spirit to do His mighty and powerful work. So my first step is praying that God would do a mighty work in my heart and loosen my grip to the things of this world and show me what He wants me to do next and that I would be willing to obey.

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