Adventist Mission

No Strings Attached

by Trixy Franke

She was six years old and dressed in a pale blue gingham dress. Her mother carried her into the exam room. She clung tightly to her mother who carried her easily on her hip.

The mother was a well dressed, articulate, English-speaking Cameroonian. She was obviously from the upper class of Buea society. I looked over at mother and daughter. The little girl smiled absently as she gazed around the room. I wondered why her mother was bringing her for a consult. She looked healthy. No runny nose, no coughing, no beads of sweat or other signs of illness were manifest.

"So, what can I do for you?" I asked the mother.

"She doesn't talk," the mother replied. "She can't walk." I continued to listen. I wondered where she was going with this statement. I sat and waited for the mother to continue. The little girl continued to stare and smile.

"She is not like other children her age,” the mother continued. “She is not all right in her head. She's not normal."

"Ahh," I murmured. "Has she ever walked?"

"No," she answered.

"Does she say words you can understand?"

"She can say 'mama and dada.'' She points to her stomach when she wants to use the toilet," she answered.

The picture was beginning to clarify. As I asked more questions about the child's history, including her birth, my suspicions were verified. The mother described how her girl was born after a very difficulty labor. As the infant's head was emerging through the pelvis, it stuck. "There were four nurses on my belly before she came out. Then they told me my baby was dead,” she explained. “They gave her oxygen but she wouldn’t breath. Then the head nurse came and said my baby had a faint heartbeat."

The story continued. The mother, just having finished a difficult labor, got into a taxi and rushed her barely alive baby to a larger hospital. There, the infant was finally stabilized. After two weeks on tube feedings, she took her infant home.

Now six years later, mother and daughter sat in my office. The mother looked at me expectantly. I felt sad and helpless. What a tragedy. She was a beautiful child with an enchanting smile. She had an aura of innocence that made one see the world in a brighter perspective. But due to the prolonged lack of oxygen to her brain during that vulnerable period called birth, her brain had suffered permanent damage. What could I do to reverse anoxic brain injury? What did I have to offer this mother and child? I sent a silent prayer heavenward asking for wisdom.

The mother and I talked. I confirmed what others had told her about her child's handicap. I explained and answered questions about how such injuries to the brain occur. Then we talked about her daughter. The mother expressed how this handicapped child of hers was somehow special. She recognized how different the younger brother was from his older sister. We chatted more about the unique qualities her daughter possessed. Despite the child’s tragedy, she radiated peace and love.

Although this girl may never speak more than a few words or even walk, she will always have infinite value. Her love for her mother is genuine. I could see a deep bond between mother and daughter. Her mother clearly loved her little girl. She tenderly stroked her head during our conversation. The girl's hygiene was impeccable. When the child tilted her head up toward her mother's face she would break out into a big grin. The two demonstrated a love that was not based on expectation. She loved without reserve. She was happy and content in her mother's arms.

I was reminded how tender and great God's unconditional love is toward us. As weak and frail humans we have even less to offer God than this handicapped girl. But like the mother, God holds us close and loves us, no strings attached, just for who we are.

Our visit drew to a close. I couldn’t offer a pill to cure her daughter as the mother requested. But, maybe it eased her mind to understand the daughter’s medical condition better or to be reassured that she was already doing everything possible to help her daughter. I want to believe that the mother went away with renewed energy, being reminded that her relationship with her daughter was valuable. For myself, I was left feeling blessed to see God's love in action.

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!...” 1 John 3:1

~Trixy

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The "Great" Missionary