A DOOR OUT OF SORROWS (Part 2)
Nothing in life can prepare us for the death of a loved one. Death is so deeply personal and stunningly final; that nothing can emotionally prepare us for its arrival. With every death, there is a loss. And with every loss, there will be grief. Grief doesn’t come and go in an orderly, confined timeframe. Just when we think the pangs of anguish have stolen their last breath, another wave sweeps in, and we are forced to revisit the memories, the pain, the fear. Yet grief, as painful a season as it is, is a necessary part of our healing. To run from grief is to run from the very thing that can quell the pain of our loss. If we come to God and use Bible verses and prayer for healing, our grief has a purpose. Grieving is the process God uses to bring us to a place of wholeness. Pastor Mitas didn't stop serving the Lord after her short-term trips to Asian countries through ITeams missions. The following year, 2019, ITeams announced one of its international conferences in Europe, which would be held in August that year. A lot of IT missionaries joined, and some were able to leave first. However, Pastor Mitas and her group were left behind. She continued praying, “if it is your will Lord, grant us your favor”. As she sought the Lord’s guidance, she saw how God led her to purchase affordable tickets, supporting her financially through some people and even her physical condition became better. Some missionaries were able to go first, but God’s timing is the best. Because of that reason, Pastor Mitas and the other missionaries who are on the same team as she were able to purchase that affordable ticket through a travel expo and she was granted thirty days on her visa to go to Europe. Everything was going well for her. Then with no warnings, another devastating event happened in her life. In the last week of July 2019, her other brother passed away. It tore her heart for she had a special bond with him and they were pretty close. Her flight to Europe was on August 3rd and with everything that has happened she thought she couldn’t go. Her sister-in-law assured her and comforted her that she must go. Pastor Mitas felt at peace after speaking with her sister-in-law, so she started packing her bags. She only had three days before her departure date to prepare everything she needed. On August 3, 2019, she and the other IT missionaries who are in her group left for Germany to join the conference there. During the conference, she was surprised to hear that one of the topics was about trauma. It was a bit of an unusual topic hearing from an international conference for missions. Pastor Mitas was partnered with an Albanian participant in prayer. The Albanian saw something in her vision and spoke, “Jesus was weeping with you”. Pastor Mitas started crying and Albanian didn’t know why. Pastor Mitas didn’t tell her at all about her trauma of losing her brother, but the words she heard became great comfort for her. Then, she was partnered with another participant. As they prayed together her prayer partner said that he saw God was consoling her. She cried her eyes out as she realized that God was using other people to give her words of comfort. With that realization and God’s peace and comfort, she received complete healing through that conference. She never thought that her season of grief had a purpose and she grew closer to God than she ever did. Not only that, but God has also blessed her trip to Europe, and she visited several countries and she continues to go on missions even after the Bless Europe program. She was able to visit the Promised Land, Israel, and ministered to the people God led to her. She is living victoriously and for the past five years, her health has been good. No one can fathom God’s love. It’s amazing how He chooses to use us in each other’s lives! Sometimes, we are so caught up in our own lives that we miss opportunities to help and minister to others. Everything that we experience, good or bad, isn’t just for us – it’s also for those around us who need to be encouraged in their walk with God. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we receive from God. Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
(Written by: Venus Jablo)
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