Molly

 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant!  You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.  Come and share your master's happiness!'

Matthew 25:23

As I do every morning, I came to the blog to see if there were comments left and to check the traffic counter.  The reason I look at the counter is because, often, I  can see the URL's of my visitors and by opening a new page, type it in and visit their own.  As I moved through the visitors, the last one showed the name, "525,600 Minutes: How Do You Measure A Year?", but the actual URL of the blog is what nearly knocked me from my chair:  "mollyinhaiti.blogspot.com".

Quickly opening a new tab, I typed in the blog name as the internet moved me at incredible speed to a page full of smiling, laughing children surrounding a beautiful young woman.  

Molly is her name.  And at 9:23 AM this morning, it was reported her body was recovered from among the devastation in Haiti.

Molly's profile states she was 22 years old, from Port Orchard, Washington, had completed her multi-degrees and was not ready to rush into the world and begin working.  But what is evident from her blog is that she had devoted her life to work that was far more rewarding than that of using her education to bring home a paycheck.  

Molly had devoted a year as a missionary for Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos International (NPH) who, according to their website, have been "Caring for orphaned and abandoned children in Latin America and the Caribbean since 1954".  The photos she posted on her blog reveal a compassion that speaks multitudes for those who are less fortunate.  The smiles on the faces of the children who surround her tell us of a heart full of great love and a desire to provide them with what they so sadly were denied by their own parents: someone to hold them and let them know that all would be well.

As I sit here wondering how Molly came to my blog, who it was that revealed her to me, I could easily pass it off as just coincidence.  After all, MSNBC did profile Molly's life and death this morning and revealed her blog address.  However, because I never turn the television on until the evening for the news, I was completely unaware of whom she was, what she did, and how she died.  Perhaps a grieving relative went to her blog to read the (at last count) 128 comments left there by many expressing their condolences and clicked on "next blog", inadvertently taking them to mine.  My prayer to God was that He would keep fresh in my mind and heart the sudden destruction and sorrow that came upon the people of Haiti.  Maybe this was His way of answering that prayer.  I will never know the true answer.

But what I do know and  believe is that God wanted the world to know just how much He loved Molly, and also His love for the people of Haiti.  In the midst of all the devastation, the tragedy of so many deaths, and the chaos that will continue to plague Haiti for a long time to come, God reminds us He is still with us and knows the sorrow that fills so many.  His eye has not failed to see.  His grace continues to pour out upon this world through people like Molly.  And His hand of mercy will not forsake us or leave us helpless.

Molly's "525,600 Minutes" may have been cut short, but they were full.  We see the evidence of that in her few blog posts.  The measurement of them will last her an eternity.

I pray that Molly's family and friends rest in the comforting knowledge that she was a faithful servant and is now at peace with her Lord.

Please continue to pray for the people of Haiti.