Created to be Loved

A dear friend of mine from medical school emailed me a portion of his journal from the day of Anastasha's birth.  It rings of truth and blessed me tremendously.  He gave me permission to share it.  I hope it will be a blessing to you and help you see what not only Anastasha's purpose here on earth was, but what yours is as well.

 

"Praise God for all things, even for those things beyond our understanding that work for His glory!  We understand such a small fraction of His greatness, His plan, His universe, yet He knows each of us intimately.  Why are we made so limited, so inadequate for the tasks that seem laid before us?  Or do we have it wrong?

 

        Have we as a people misjudged our task, our purpose?  Are we here (and fully equipped) to simply love God, and worship Him?  Why then, are we saddled wth reason?  Why do we have the capacity to even realize how limited we truly are, how little we understand?

 

        October 26th, 2010, at 1239 CDT, a minister was born, a "prophetess," maybe.  Her name is Anastasha Kalil DeLisi, and she lived for 50 minutes.  She had anencephaly.  Her parents, our good friends from long ago, Craig and Tonya DeLisi, carried her to term and chose that 9 months and 50 minutes of life for her.

 

        I feel ministered to by her already. She, the "least of these," sends a profound message that all God's children are equal in value.  Her parents' witness, to do something "countercultural," "tore the veil" on what we often think reality is to see God's reality.  We should celebrate life ALL THE TIME, but celebrate it as a precious gift in an open palm. 

 

        That, as beautiful as it is, is not the most radical message that this tiny miracle shows us.  She makes our mission crystal clear.  We each have a purpose here on earth, all of us, for whatever time we are here.  As Anastasha shows us, maybe it has nothing to do with our abilities, our well intentioned ministries, or ANYTHING that neatly fits into the construct of western thought, or even superficial Christian doctrine.  It may not even be to "love Him" in the terms as we define love.

 

        It is to RECEIVE GRACE, freely, without pride, without pre-supposition of worth, but to be objects, recipients of the perfect, everlasting love of the Almighty God through Jesus Christ His Son.  ALL can receive, none is inadequate for this task.  Anastasha is an incarnational reminder of the ONLY thing that is important.  To be loved by HIM.  She was unable to let her will get in the way of His love, unable to rest on her gifts as they would be defined by our society.  All of the unimportant things were stripped away in her, and what was left was that which was necessary to be an object of that precious gift of God's love - her soul.

 

        God bless my friends for being her parents.  Only they were up to this monumental task, in His strength.

 

        God, thank you for Anastasha.  She is showing the way to us all.  Many would define her as less, or last, but we know she is so much more. 

 

        Matthew 19:30 "But many who are first will be last, and the last first."  She stands first among us today, complete in the resurrection, an object of God's love."