I (dez) asked my brother to recorded the eulogy speech for the first night service. As we were too exhausted in the day, we didn't have time to write a proper speech. So I just prepared the points mentally, and gave an impromptu speech.
I watched the video and transcribed the speech. Looking at it now, it seems to be a bit more disjointed that I would like... but the speech did capture what I wanted to say.
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Charlene
was born on a rainy night, 27 Oct 2009.
It was a
very eventful night for me. Mummy's pregnancy was very smooth, there was no
indication that Charlene was in a difficult condition. We went for a routine
gynae check on that night, and the gynae sent us to the hospital for a
“precautionary” monitoring. About 30
mins after reaching the hospital, the nurses wheeled mummy to the emergency
ward for an emergency caesarian.
All our
dreams of a normal baby just went poof on that night.
The next 2
days later, the doctor told us that Charlene has seizures. She was put under a
lot of medications. We saw a lot of tubes and needles on Charlene. She was in
ICU for about 4 months.
Mummy and
I often wondered why this happened to Charlene and us. We think God has many reasons for creating Charlene in this manner.
I found God
on 30 Oct 2009 where I was crying alone at night. But I felt God’s peace came
over me. I was searching for God through other ways, through reading books,
through talking to other Christians. But I never believe in God because the Holy
Spirit has not touched me. But I know the Holy Spirit resided in me that night.
The next
day I went to the hospital and told God in front of Charlene’s cot. “God, I
felt your presence last night. I want you to become my Lord and Savior; not
because I want Charlene to be healed but because I know you are a true and
loving God. “
From that
day onward, we know that Charlene’s life will be limited, but we know that God
is with us. The doctors gave her very little chance of survival, and said that
she will never be able to recognize her parents.
But
Charlene continued to prove the doctors wrong time and again. For those who
know Charlene, you will know that Charlene is a very pretty girl. When you call
her pretty, she will smile and respond happily. When she throws a tantrum she
will look for mummy. When she wants to sleep she will look for daddy, because
daddy has a big cushion (tummy) so it’s good to sleep.
Through
Charlene, God has opened up a lot of ways to meet new people. We came into YMM,
our church and family. We meet a lot of parents with special needs children who
have varied difficulties and needs.
Through Charlene, as Mummy has said, we understand what unconditional love. For normal kids, you will be thinking about which secondary school, whether poly or JC, which university. In our hearts we know that these things are difficult for Charlene, but that doesn’t stop us from loving us. And we know that this is how God loves us. God loves us so much that He sent his one and only son, Jesus Christ, to die for us.
This 3 ½
years is not easy as there a lot of things to learn and do to care for this
kid. But God is faithful to us. God has given us a lot of blessings through
other people. And we try to live life in a strong way, in a manner that God
wants us to live. And that is to live life meaningfully.
One of the
ways we live life meaningfully is to do God’s work. For Charlene, a 3 ½ year
old baby who cannot talk, cannot crawl, cannot walk, she has done God’s work by
touching a lot of people’s hearts. Many, many people love her. Thank God for
all the love that You have showered her. We know that Charlene is in heaven
with Jesus Christ as a little angel sitting beside Lord Jesus Christ. We know
that Charlene is made perfect in Jesus Christ because the bible has written my
grace is sufficient you for you are perfect in weakness. Charlene may be weak
but she is made strong in the Holy Spirit. And she has run a good race. Daddy
and mummy are very proud to be her parents.
We have sacrificed
a lot for Charlene. We made a lot of changes in our life, but we thank God for
giving Charlene to us. As mummy has said, this 3 ½ years is not a waste. Today
will be the close of a chapter. Daddy and mummy will be strong in Jesus Christ.
We will see what plans God has for us, and we will walk down the path He has
set for us, with love, faith and hope.
Thank you
all for taking time to send Charlene off for this last time. We hope that
Charlene has blessed you as much as she has blessed us.
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