Look Out For The Left Out

LOOK OUT FOR THE LEFT OUT !

July 10th is an anniversary that has been weighing heavily on my heart. It can be a difficult subject to talk about, and yet it strikes to the core of everything I believe. It will be the 6th anniversary of the death of Calla Adelaide Woods.

I did not know Calla, but my daughter was friends with her in elementary school and church. They were pretty close so, when Calla passed away it hit her hard. Because of her connection to my daughter it became much more real and personal for me and the rest of my family as well.

Calla was the daughter of one of the pastors at our church. She was an easy person to like and was everyone’s friend. Calla was complaining about headaches and in mid May of 2019 was diagnosed with brain cancer. Less than 2 months later she left her earthly body behind and went to be with our Lord in heaven. She spent the last weeks of her life in the hospital. Although this was hard on her and her family, they all remained faithful and endured it all through much prayer and praise. People from the church, close friends, and family all rallied to the cause. There were many days and nights when Calla’s room was full of visitors praying for her and being there to support the family in any way they could.

I have never seen a community pull together like that before. It was a powerful witness to the other patients and hospital staff. She was baptized earlier that year in February and never seemed to doubt her faith.

The way the community came together around her showed us all what the church family should be. This is what draws people into the church, Love. The world is looking for Love but often only finds, or at least perceives, indifference or hate. We are God’s ambassadors to this fallen world, but too often we are poor examples of His love. But then people like this at times like these show us what Love is. One of her favorite songs was Raise a Hallelujah and she asked to hear it while in that hospital room. She knew where her hope was. She knew where her journey ended even if she wasn’t sure of the path. She was brave through the whole ordeal and everyone around her knew why.

There is a saying that she made popular:

Look Out For The Left Out

From what I know of her, this is exactly what she did.

I can only hope that when my time comes people will say the same about me. I have no doubt that when she stood before God He said “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

I look forward to that day when I will see her in Heaven.

____________________________

Raise A Hallelujah

I raise a hallelujah in the presence of my enemies

I raise a hallelujah louder than the unbelief

I raise a hallelujah, my weapon is a melody

I raise a hallelujah, Heaven comes to fight for me

I'm gonna sing in the middle of the storm

Louder and louder, you're gonna hear my praises roar

Up from the ashes, hope will arise

Death is defeated, the King is alive

I raise a hallelujah with everything inside of me