Freedom From Shame
“Hello, can you come right away?” Our new friend blurted out the words without the usual greetings, and we knew instantly there was a problem. “I need you to translate for the funeral home, they are calling at 3:00 p.m.” Our heads were spinning. What had happened?
We gently asked what was going on and where they were. He said, “We are at the hospital. My wife is suddenly very sick and has just lost our baby at 23 weeks, and we don’t know what to do. Can you come help us? I need to find a place to bury the baby.”
Of course, we quickly answered, “Where are you? Which hospital? We will be there as soon as we can.”
We received this gut-wrenching call and have been trying to support this refugee family, who had only arrived in the US six months ago. The young 23-year-old mother was very sick and fighting for her life with multiple medical issues.
Their hearts were broken, and yet they hardly had time to grieve because the mother was so sick herself. They have a three-year-old son, who was with them in the hospital because he had nowhere else to go. They have no family and no relatives to help out, as would have been the case back in their home country. We joined them at the hospital and brought some toys and books for the little one to be distracted amid a difficult setting.
My wife leaned over the bed and hugged the young mom to give comfort and support. We asked to pray for them, and they agreed with red, swollen eyes and heavy hearts. We cried with them and prayed for God’s peace and mercy to comfort and sustain them in this time of shock and uncertainty. We prayed for God’s healing hand upon the young mother, that she might recover and be restored to health.
By the third day, she was out of the ICU but still on strong medications to manage her blood pressure. Her body was only partially responding, and we called out to God for a miracle. We shared the need through our local church’s prayer chain. Thankfully, God heard our prayers and the prayers of many others. By the end of the week, the wife had recovered enough for the family to return home.
Jesus can Break the Chains of Shame
The husband said, “We called you because we had no one else, and we knew you would come. Thank you for coming. We are so sorry to bother you.”
I said, “We are so glad you called. In fact, we wished you had called earlier.”
He said, “It is a shame that we lost the baby and we can’t tell anyone else from our community.”
We shared that there are things in this world that are difficult to understand, but there is no shame in losing a baby. The weight of shame for Muslims is all-encompassing, overwhelming, and so painful. It causes them to avoid seeking help at all costs. Join us in praying for this hurting family and for Muslims around the world to experience true freedom in Christ and be released from their burden of sin and shame.
As Christians from the West, we rarely understand the depth that the grip of shame holds on these dear people. It is very real, causing them to be fearful and controlled by it. Shame is a tool of the devil to keep them in bondage. They truly need Christ to set them free.
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