The Story of Lea

The Story of Lea 

For a long time, the news could not penetrate Lea’s head. It hung outside her consciousnesses, denying acknowledgment. The heart, however, buckled under these horrible words, penetrating deep, piercing with pain: “Your son just died.” Her face turned pale; drained of any strength, her body crumbled motionless to the ground. 

Tears flowed day and night as waves of pain were folding her in spasmodic convulsions, sapping the last bits of energy. But, even then, sleep evaded her. Rest was far from her. The eery silence of many sleepless nights threw Lea’s mind reeling at high velocity. “Why, God?” she cried silently, only to be met with equal silence. 

Lea knew she was losing her peace. Prayers, studies and devotionals were far from the capability of her mind to engage in them. She could not get herself to face God in prayer. Attending worship on Sunday terrified her. And then, a familiar pattern emerged: A Bible verse came into her mind, 

The righteous perish, and no one ponders in his heart; the devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. (Isaiah 57:1)

Lea knew that God had spoken. The message, though informative, didn’t bring her the desired relief but pilled more unanswered questions. She felt robbed of the joy of not having her boy in this world. All the plans and hopes built together had suddenly vanished. A deep void lodged itself deep inside her heart, stealing the small joys of life. Prayer time was tough. She would call God’s name and remain in His presence, weeping silently. A reverent fear rose steadily within her—a fear of being angry with God. Throughout the years, God has delivered answers to Lea’s countless prayers, performing signs and miracles of healing, building her trust steadily into a giant mountain. His investments in her life were paying off now.  Lea embraced Job’s attitude of suffering.

The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised. (Job 1:21)

Months have passed with no relief from the pain. One Sunday, after service, her heart was weighty with sorrow. She just wanted to be away, left alone for some time, to spare her family from watching her in this miserable condition. The choice was not difficult to make. Her family was in the process of building their dream home just a few miles away. The still unfinished back porch was her preferred place for seclusion in prayer. As Lea headed towards the ranch, tears began rolling down her sad face. A deep longing in her heart rose, a strong desire to be with her mother at that very moment, a yearning to fall in her arms and cry her heart out on her shoulder. But her mother was thousands of miles away; she knew her desire was unattainable. 

As she turned onto the private dirt road, she noticed another car heading in the same direction right before her. The people were either lost or were going to the ranch; the alternatives were apparent, Lea thought. Sure enough, the vehicle began climbing the small hill, advancing towards the building site. Both cars came to a stop side-by-side. A couple rolled down the window and began apologizing, explaining that they knew the building contractor who had spoken highly of the design and the house's location and had encouraged them to visit the site. They were in the neighborhood, they said, visiting a relative and decided to swing by to see the beauty for themselves. 

Lea’s plans for seclusion had to wait. She extended hospitality to the couple and took them on a tour as they marveled at the unique features she showed them. The tour ended at the back porch. The flood of sorrow was now an unrelentless pounding on her soul. Lea broke down in tears, unable to hold the crushing weight, as she revealed her heavy heart to the two strangers. Without saying a word, the woman stepped forward and gently embraced Lea. For a long moment, Lea gave into her sorrows and wept quietly on the woman’s shoulder. “It is my shoulder. It is my comfort for you, Lea,” the Lord whispered. 

Later that night, Lea pondered in awe about God’s extraordinary providence. That afternoon, God arranged all events perfectly, bringing people and resources in perfect order and timing to deliver the desired comfort and message: “I love you, Lea.” It was just a longing, not even a voiced prayer, and yet, God knew the need and immediately delivered the relief, proving once again the truthfulness of the Scripture. 

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. (Romans 8:26-27)

To this day, Lea’s sorrow continues to be a part of her life. The debilitating sting of pain, however, was removed. The arms of the woman were conduit of God’s healing power for Lea. 

In all her sorrowful experiences, Lea did not sin against God. The fear of offending Him by questioning her fate was the wisdom from above she acquired along the many years of intimate relationship with Jesus, her Lord, God, and Savior. God responded with a favor, bestowing blessing on her and her family. Lea had another son, a daily reminder of her firstborn boy, now in Heaven for Eternity with the Lord.