On Thanksgiving Day 2016 Elizabeth was engaged to Evan, her boyfriend of 4 years. In December, shortly after Christmas, Elizabeth and her mother Jane set aside a day for wedding dress shopping. This event was to take place in October of this year, 2017. On Tuesday, January 10th Elizabeth reminded her mother to be sure to put money down on the venue for the nuptials. It was not to be, for on January 12, at 11:40 PM after a grueling battle with cancer, the Lord called Elizabeth home.
Elizabeth was a beautiful 25- year- old woman whose biggest worry was paying off her student loans from the University of Denver. She was planning her life, entering new chapters with her dreams coming true, and looking forward to marrying her Evan. Evan is in medical school and everything was great until the cancer came to destroy the plans. Her surgery last Friday, to remove the cluster of tumor from her brain, was successful, but it was the other tumors throughout her body that she could not battle successfully that finally took her down.
Several months ago, Jane shared a story with me about Elizabeth and her father Jim. When Elizabeth was in high school Jim worked graveyard and many times, when he got home from work Elizabeth was up doing homework. They shared this special time together. It was Jim that God allowed to be in the room when she left this world, one last special time together. Elizabeth was a daddy’s girl and he was there to the very end.
We prayed and prayed for Elizabeth’s miracle, but it was not to be. In Jane’s words, “I saw God in everything during this trial, witnessed His special graces but not in the cancer.” A mother always knows these things; Jane kept this in her heart.
In all this cloudy sadness God did manifest a miracle, several as a matter of fact. Elizabeth’s death will never be in vain. She brought many backslidden Christians to their knees. They will never forget how bravely beautiful Elizabeth struggled for her life, how she fought to her last breath, and how in the end gracefully surrendered. Rachael and Jacob will never forget how their older sister Elizabeth loved them and what a positive influence she was in their lives.
Please keep Jane, Jim, Rachael, Jacob and Evan in your prayers for their hearts are broken and in need of great repair.
Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
Romans 8:38-39 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
