An open letter to Mommy and Daddy

As the hot Atlanta summer beats on my sun kissed skin, I am left pondering the process and progress of the last 11 months. My daily thoughts of you leave a sweet dew on my mind that delights even my most challenging days. For my joy comes not in the loss of you, but in the faithfulness of God. Mommy, after you died, I didn’t think I could make it a single day. Daddy, I felt my world shutting down when you died. Your deaths challenged, strained, pushed and motivated me. Yet, despite the arduous season of grief and turmoil, I am here. I am still standing, more grounded in my faith than ever; more excited than ever to share the Gospel of a God who gives, takes away and restores.
 
For 28 years, I knew the God who gave, thus abruptly meeting the God who “takes away" was an unwelcomed (and at times an unbearable) feat. Yet, through it all, God never failed me. He never left me alone. My understanding of your death has been informed by my love for a God who gave, took away and is restoring; my understanding of your death has informed my entire theology.
 
Anyone can worship a God who gives; a God who so quickly answers prayers. Yet, there is a deeper relationship that is cultivated when one finds holy hands amidst Hellish seasons, worship despite worry and praying lips in loneliness. In the past 11 months, I’ve found that lily in the valley that we used to sing about; I’ve found that love truly lifts me; and I know for a fact that there is power in the blood of Jesus.
 
You spent your lives bringing me to Jesus, yet it was in your death that I truly met Him for myself. Through your life, my life is better. Through your death, my life has been transformed. Thank you.
 
Love you today and always,

Kiya