From time to time, I think of Kuwama, the friend I lost in Uganda.
I was reminded by Facebook that 7 years ago on this day, I stood with her side by side with the giants in healthcare, excited to pioneer geriatric care training in Uganda.
As the work gained traction, Kuwama told me with unflinching fervor, “Dr Wai, you and me, together we will change geriatric care in Uganda and East Africa!” Her eyes shone with relentless optimism.
A month before our stint in Uganda ended, Kuwama assured me, “Your work, Dr Wai, will live on. I will see to it. I will have this baby, take few months maternity and return to carry the flame.”
A week later, she did not come to work.
She died in labor. It was her fourth child.
Today as I preached on Hebrews 11:8-10 about Abraham’s life, I pondered on why God made him sojourn through the Promised Land without ever inheriting it. It seems sad, doesn’t it, a waste even.
Yet, from what we know, Abraham built four altars during his sojourn. Altars which broke the atmosphere, which lay spiritual stakes for the generations behind him, which marked him as a forerunner of faith. Kuwama might not have seen the fruit of her labor, but we trust that our efforts, when made in obedience, matter in the light of eternity.
Today, if you’re struggling with the futility of efforts gone past, brutal realities of fruitless ness- know this, that God’s timeline is vastly different.
What you may not see in your lifetime, may still matter in eternity, if done in obedience.
Keep walking, keep journeying.