One year ago, on August 03, 2014 we lost a little one.
Rosa Medrano died at the age of 3. Her Mom and big brothers continue to
struggle with the grief. With permission below is Rosa’s eulogy given by her
Pediatrician, Dr. Shea Bowling. In honor of Sally, Jesse and Tata and in memory
of Rosa who is now healed and dancing in the fields with Jesus…let us not
forget and let us live in hope! d
“I am honored and humbled to share with
you the life of Rosa Medrano. To share
with you the joy and the anguish that surrounds these last days. I was privileged to be part of the team who
cared for Rosa medically.
In the small things I was able to help
with, Rosa and her family helped me and many others in great things. I am grateful to God, Sally and her family
for allowing me to share in this precious life. We come to days like these with
mixed emotions and thoughts – sadness, anguish, anger, confusion – we want to
know why and to see the purpose in everything – we doubt, we have questions –
why this sweet little girl is taken and others get to stay.
What words can be spoken to soothe broken
hearts. To bring hope, healing, and
peace – a reason to go on.
I looked for some poem or song, something
profound…the only word that comes is JESUS.
As I thought about the truth of this that
Jesus is our hope, our understanding, the answer to all our confusion and
questions, all our deep hurts and longings.
I smiled and began to think of Rosa’s arrival in Heaven.
I saw her skipping and twirling in green
tall grass in a beautiful, long white dress with a big bow in the back,
barefoot with her long flowing curly coal black hair glistening in the
sun. She arrives to a host of ancestors
who have waited to meet her and rejoice at her arrival. They talk as if they have always known each
other, and then in the field out in the open, she spots Jesus waiting. She
giggles and runs into His arms. He
gives her the biggest hug and twirls her around. He gently kisses her cheek, brushing her hair from her face. They walk hand in hand to the stream and sit
down on the bank. Rosa begins to point at all the creatures she sees and talks
to Jesus about them. As she delights,
Jesus turns and says, `Rosa I love you so much! I am so glad to see you, welcome
home my good and faithful servant.’ You see Rosa was God’s real life example of
His unconditional love.
As you know while Rosa was in her earthly
body, she did not get to walk or talk or giggle. But no matter, Rosa accomplished more in the 3 years of her life
than most of us will our whole life.
Rosa is a picture for us to see of the love that Jesus has for us. A love that is unconditional and
forever. You see Rosa was just like any
other little girl. She liked her nails
done but she liked mama best! She would be ornery with new nurses and breathe
against her ventilator just to get her Mom in the room. She enjoyed her brother’s announcements of
how much they loved her. She hated the
hospital and was always glad to come home.
She looked pretty in pink, loved Dora and stuffed animals.
Rosa lived in a broken body while on this
earth but never a broken spirit. Some
would look in and feel sorry for her family and think all a burden. They think why did this have to happen? But I will tell you that her family counted
every day as a gift. Jonita said it
best, `I am grateful for you Sally for taking such good care of her and
grateful to God for every day we got to have with her.’ The best picture I know
on earth that helps me begin to understand the greatness of God’s love for us
is a mother’s love for her child. This
is the gift of Rosa straight from God to this family and the gift of seeing
God’s love in watching this family love her.
Jonita spoke what all in Rosa’s family feel in their hearts – I love
Rosa and I would give my life for hers.
I love all of my family and would die for any of them. What is love, if not this? Jesus said greater love hath no man than to
lay down one’s life for another. We
talk about love and long for it. We
think we find it. Paul describes love to the Corinthians in this way, `Love is
patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not
irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about
the injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up,
never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.’
(1 Corinthians 13: 4-7)
Child of Mine
I’ll
lend you for a little time
A
child of mine. He said,
For
you to love while she lives
and
mourn when she is gone.
It
may be six of seven years
or
twenty-two or three,
But
will you, till I call her back,
Take
care of her for me?
She’ll
bring her charms to gladden you,
but
should her stay be brief,
You’ll
have her lovely memories,
as
solace for your grief.
I
cannot promise she will stay,
since
all from earth return,
But
there are lessons taught down there
I
want this child to learn.
I’ve
looked the wide world over
In
my search for teachers true
and
from the throngs that crowd life’s lanes
I
have selected you
Now
will you give her all your love,
Nor
think the labor vain,
Nor
hate Me when I come to call
To
take her back again?
I
fancied that I heard them say:
Dear
Lord, Thy will be done!
For
all the joy Thy Child shall bring
the
risk of grief we’ll run.
We’ll
shelter her with tenderness;
We’ll
love her while we may,
and
for happiness we’ve known
Forever
grateful stay.
But
should angels call for her
much
sooner than we planned
we’ll
brace the bitter grief that comes and try to understand.
Love when it is real is full of joy and deep anguish. Mary was blessed to be the mother of Jesus
to know and love Jesus as His mother – what a privilege! But, her very heart was pierced when He died
on a cross but again lifted to highest heights when He rose from the dead. Our hearts rejoice in the life and gift of
Rosa and our hearts are pierced as she leaves us…but this is not it. Jesus said
I have come that you might have eternal life.
He told the disciples to be quiet and let the children come unto Me and
He blessed them. He said unless you
come as a little child you cannot enter My kingdom. Rosa is laughing, running, twirling, smelling flowers and riding
horses with Jesus in Heaven. She showed
us the great and unending love of God for all of us. God loved Sally and her family so much that He sent Rosa for a
little while to show us love – to be a picture to you of His great love.
God loved us so much that He sent His son
Jesus to be our hope, our peace, our reason to get up tomorrow and keep going –
keep loving on this earth until we enter His perfect peace and rest in Heaven.
Jesus tells us in John 6 all
that is required for this eternal life is to, `Believe in Me. Believe that I
love you so much I gave up Heaven, lived on earth that you might see God’s love
in a living human being, I died on a cross to rescue you from the evil that has
taken life and hope from you. All you
have to do to enter…is believe in Me.
Believe, I am God’s son.’ Jesus says, `Come to me, all of you who are
weary and carry heavy burdens and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you let Me teach you,
because I am humble and gentle at heart and you will find rest for your souls.
For My yoke is easy to bear and the burden I give you is light.’
Rosa’s very life has brought all of us
together from all walks of life to be a picture of God’s love on this
earth. In three short years she
accomplished this and has been received into Jesus’ arms and lives forever in a
perfect beautiful new body!! What shall
we do with the days we have left? Will we spend it with Jesus loving or will we
spend it without hope, comfort or peace?
Annie Dillard said, `You do not have to
sit outside in the dark, if however you want to look at the stars, you will
find that the darkness is necessary.
But the stars neither require nor demand it.’ True love is sometimes
wrapped in sorrow (darkness) as we say goodbye but, will we run from the dark
and difficult and risk missing the beautiful stars – the moments, the memories,
the lives that we experience when we know love? Jesus waits to love us all, to comfort us, to give us peace, will
we run into His arms….
Let us celebrate that Rosa is home with
Jesus, whole and perfect. She waits with Jesus to welcome us in Heaven. “
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