This past Tuesday, in the early morning, my niece, Kara Brown passed from this life into eternal life. My brother and his wife, have been battling this blood disease with Kara for the past three and one-half years. How they have managed to maintain their lives and keep strong relationships going with their other children and be healthy themselves is a testimony to how strong faith can be in times like this. Their commitment to fulfill Kara's wish to die at home was amazing. They took training (which after three and one-half years they already knew the drill) to administer medications to keep her as comfortable as possible and were not willing for others to care for her when they could themselves. Kara was never alone.
The Lord allowed JoLynn and me to arrive in time to see Kara, speak to her while she was still responsive. It was a privilege to be there and watch my brother care for her with such amazing tenderness and responsiveness. My esteem for him is even greater than it was before. It was simply amazing.
Through the week, it was such a blessing to have so many people send emails and flowers letting us know they were feeling the loss of Kara even though they had never met her. Bethel Church, the Assembly of God congregation in Chehalis was especially kind in offering the use of their wonderful facility and preparing a generous dinner for all the guests afterwards. This lifted a tremendous burden by the family not having to make these arrangements while they were making other necessary plans and with family members arriving.
The memorial service was such a great event, so many people came that the line for signing the guest book extended out the doors and around the building so far that they just took the guest book away and allowed people to come in and fill the sanctuary to capacity. Kara touched so many lives it is difficult to imagine without seeing all the doctors, nurses who came that gave her care, students from her high school that she mentored, church friends, community friends, work associates and all who took the time to come, some from other states just to be there to honor her memory.
In the end, the disease conquered Kara's body, but it never conquered her spirit. She remained funny, spunky and positive to the time where she could no longer respond. She was a fighter to the end.
Our great comfort in all of this is knowing she is with Jesus and no longer trapped in a body stricken with disease. She is on the "other side" with many of our friends and family members who have preceded us. It will make it all the more sweeter to see her again when our time comes.
One of her final quotes will stay with me a long time, "The only day wasted is a day not spent in serving the Lord."
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