August 12, 2002
CYBERCOLUMN:
Esperanza rising
___By Donna Van Cleve
___I slipped in the back of the funeral home just minutes before the service began. The young man in the coffin was only 24 years old. My eyes were constantly drawn to the backs of the young wife and her mother sitting quietly side-by-side in the first pew. I watched the mother place a comforting arm around her daughter from time to time—especially when family members sang several beautiful songs in Spanish.
___Pepa knew better than most what her daughter was going through. She had lost her own husband several years ago. But what made thissituation even more heart-rending was that her daughter had just begun a new life with her husband. They had married a little over three months ago, and now the new bride was saying goodbye.
DONNA VAN CLEVE
___Pammy and Rigo found out during their engagement that he had brain cancer, and the outlook the doctors gave was grim. The young couple decided to trust God and continue with their plans. Rigo had surgery, and for awhile everything seemed to take a turn for the better. They had a beautiful wedding in our church and returned to their life in San Marcos.
___None of us know why God chose to take Rigo home at such a young age. That is one of those difficult situations that we have to place in God's hands. But it is such a comfort for everyone to know where Rigo would spend eternity.
___The funeral service was preached bilingually in English and Spanish. Rigo's family was from Mexico and spoke no English. They, too, sat quietly beside Pammy and her mother during the service. I listened to Rigo's brother-in-law translate the pastor's sermon sentence by sentence. The pastor spoke of the hope, the "esperanza," we have in Christ, and that we should not sorrow as others who have no hope. Our hope in Christ is not the wishful thinking kind of hope as it is often referred to in the English language, but rather a blessed assurance of our future with Christ in heaven. What a beautiful word, "esperanza," and we heard it spoken many times today.
___The preacher said Rigo wanted to accomplish several things in his life. He wanted to marry Pammy, and he accomplished that. He wanted to be baptized, and the pastor said he had baptized him recently. He mentioned that Rigo's mother-in-law had introduced him to Christ. Then he said Rigo wanted to become a citizen of the United States, and had been studying to do so. That was the one goal he did not accomplish here, but more importantly, Rigo had become a citizen of heaven.
___Following the service, I drove to the church to help our hospitality ladies prepare the meal to feed the family and friends. That is such a wonderful way for churches to minister to people on the day of a funeral, when meal preparation for visiting kinfolks and friends is the last thing grieving families feel like doing.
___ Pepa and Pammy were two of the last to arrive from the graveside service. I watched Pepa's sweet face going through the line and recalled all she had done for Pammy these past few months. She had helped organize her wedding. She was there when they needed encouragement and support. When Rigo became ill, she went to San Marcos to stay with him so Pammy could continue to work.
___But above all of that, it dawned on me that she had given her daughter an even more extraordinary gift. She had been the one to lead Rigo to salvation in Christ. And because of that, it gave Pammy the "esperanza" that she would one day see her precious husband again.
___Donna Van Cleve is director of the public library in Cotulla, a writer, wife, mother and member of First Baptist Church in Cotulla, where she is pianist.
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