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A Moment of Silence 

By Mindy Caliguire - Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Two weeks ago today, I sat at the funeral of young girl. She attended the same school as two of my sons, and the entire school had rallied for almost a year as she was diagnosed with Leukemia and then endured several paths of treatment in an effort to spare her young life. Though she fought valiantly, in the end the cancer won.

During the service, many people spoke of the tremendous impact this young but brief life made, especially through her genuine and abiding concern for others. The vibrant portrait of a “little Christ”, or “Christian” emerged. She seemed to embody, at least in some important ways, the person of God to those around her—whether fellow students, nurses and doctors, family members, or friends.

What caused me to discreetly pull out my journal and write about the experience was the story her pastor, who knew her well, conveyed about her favorite verse from the Bible. I have never heard of someone choosing this as their “favorite verse”… John 11:35, “Jesus wept.”

I don’t think this reflects a young heart latching on to the easiest memorization assignment in Bible class. Rather, I suspect this reflects the true spirit of a young child who became sensitive to God’s heart for the tragedy of the world around her—and perhaps even the tragedy of the world in her own blood.

The most important, the most treasured, thing she knew about God was not God’s power, God’s love, God’s supremacy or truth, as important as those divine qualities are. What was most dear to her was that our God is a God who wept.

And so did I.

Journaling Prompt: How do you respond to the idea that Jesus wept? Also, when was the last time you encountered a death–of a loved one, or a pet, or a complete stranger–how did you respond?

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