A Sad Day

At the moment, Team Hospital in Dadeldhura, Nepal is my workplace and home.  It's a beautiful place to be.  It's now the middle of winter, and whilst the chill in the foggy air sometimes seems to seep into your very bones, the winter here has a tangible, icy beauty; and every morning the mountains whisper a message of calm and constancy...  even when they're hiding under a blanket of fog and cloud.  The staff at the hospital were instantly welcoming, and the knowledge and lives of those around me continue to teach me new lessons everyday.  It's lovely here, God is good, and I'm happy.

Yet, today was a sad day.  As is my newly-established habit, I toddled after the small crowd of doctors and nurses for their daily morning ward round.  (Dental patients take a little while to show up, and it's been a real eye-opener to see what sort of medical conditions and circumstances turn people into patients.  I also love learning from the doctors, and watching their minds tick as they weigh up the medical evidence and work out what's wrong, and what they need to do...)  Anyway, a few days ago, a very little girl was admitted, a couple of years old, at the most.  She'd sustained some nasty burns across her back...  it was awful to see her the first time, with these red, raw areas etched across her beautiful, coffee-coloured, young Nepali skin.  She'd been re-hydrated, her burns carefully redressed daily...  She'd been generally improving, even in demeanour and energy levels.  But yet, our ward round this morning commenced with the news that she'd died during the night.  It was totally unexpected, and everyone was shocked and saddened by it.  There's something about an empty hospital bed in the morning that gives your heart such a heaviness.

Things like this are always hard.  She was so little.  Born into a remote part of Nepal into a poor family.  The burn probably only happened because her family were trying to keep her warm in the cold of winter...  I guess there are a few things rolling around in my head after today.  Firstly, I just can't help sparing a thought and prayer for this child, and the family now grieving the loss of their precious little girl.  Also, I must continue to pray that the word of Jesus might go out in this place, and that the hospital staff can show the love of Jesus in their medical work, and all they do and say. 

And I guess finally, it's been a reminder for me that none of us know what tomorrow has in store.  Like a flower of the grass, we will all pass away.  There'll be a day when I will have to say goodbye to this life - and so will you, and your best friend, and your mum and dad.  Abandoning yourself to a vague sense of fatalism and despair certainly isn't the answer...  indeed, we have life, and life in abundance!  And loving and caring for "the least of these" (however that might look) is one beautiful thing we can do, and in which we can find real joy.   But...  actually, maybe that should be "therefore"... I'm becoming more and more aware of living with a View Eternal.  We can't be sure of what our days on earth contain, or how many there'll be.  But I know that, thanks to Jesus, there is great hope... for eternity, and for now.

Sorry, a bit of a sobering post!  If you get a spare sec, spare a thought and prayer in remembrance of our beautiful little Nepali sister - and her family left behind.