Life Happens

Little Jeremiah is born, to our collective cheers. Sister Wenyin went home, to the sadness of those who care about her.

Life and death juxtapose. In fact, every second, two are reporting to this world, while two are leaving this world.

I remember the weekend before thanksgiving in 2006, when I rushed back to bid my final farewell to my mom. It was a Saturday night. The sky was pitch dark, without the slightest sight of any stars. Both my mom and I were awake throughout the night. It can be argued that we were holding vigil for each other.

Sometime past midnight, I walked out of the ward for a time of solitude and meditation. My childhood home used to stand in the middle of the rice field in front of the hospital before being forced to relocate to the foothill of the village. A newborn's sudden cry seared the quietness of the countryside, bringing me back from my reminiscing. An old man was carried in, moaning in pain. A frame of history froze in my mind: a new life came to the world, an old man was stricken with pain, my mom was racing toward the finish line of her life, and I was the witness of the moment of life and death.

Today, we are witnesses of another moment in the parting of life and death. May the Lord bless little Jeremiah and his family. May the Lord receive the soul of Sister Wenyin and comfort her grieving family and loved ones with the blessed hope that shatters all despairs.