Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - June/91

Contributor - Janet Vliegenthart

Title - Blessed Are The Poor In Spirit

Topic - Suffering

A frail old woman sits outside her tiny hut sewing cowrie shells onto a gourd. The work is painstakingly meticulous and she must rest her weary eyes and shaky hands often. In her hut hang a few photos which encourage her. One is of her and that mzungu (white person) who comes to buy the gourds. The other is of another mzungu selling the gourds in Nairobi.

When I first met her, I thought her to be close to 60 years old. After I came to know her, I learned she was only half that. Life had not spared her any troubles: her husband was an alcoholic and had rented out most of their land. Socially she was stigmatized because she had given him only one son. She desperately had wanted another but I suspect that was unlikely, due to her malnourished state and possibly to the chronic abdominal pains she often complained of.

Despite her suffering she worked very hard to support her family. Whenever we visited she greeted us warmly, and before we handled any business she prayed with us. From the cracks of her broken English flowed praise and thanksgiving to God. Her simple prayers never failed to touch me deeply.

Jane died this past week, only four days since our last visit. When I received the news I felt overcome with sadness, but not for Jane. Her death was an act of grace. The hope and faith which she so strongly clung to have not disappointed her. Jane was poor in the things and the ways of the world, and yet she was rich. She had stored up for herself treasures in heaven. I was sad for the many like her who ache for comfort and for healing and for release. It is a far cry from the abundant life that Jesus came to give.

I was sad, too, because I could have done more for her. I was often in a hurry and she always wanted me to stay longer and visit. I could have listened to her stories. I could have taken her to the clinic myself. I could have tried to talk with her husband. I could have arranged for better moral support from ' the church and the community.

When I look back over the ten months during which I knew Jane, I see the development, not so much in Jane, but in myself.

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