In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha ( . . . Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor. . . . She became sick and died. . . . Peter . . . prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes, and . . . sat up. Acts 9:36-40, NIV

Our daughter Kristi died September 11, 1994. She was only 4½. The battle for her life started two years before when we discovered a firmness in the right side of her abdomen. Kristi had a neuroblastoma, and it was growing fast. Only three out of 100,000 children get this tumor. Highly malignant, it had spread to the bone. She had a one-in-three chance of survival. And for that chance her treatment would have to be severe: six months of chemotherapy, then radiation followed by a bone marrow transplant. The agonizing treatment would leave its marks on her body for life, but we had to try.

We celebrated the one-year posttransplant milestone, then a couple weeks later Kristi's fouth birthday. Life was good again. Kristi was going to make it. Then 17 months out from the transplant the tumor was back, and our brave little girl began to lose her hold on life. Kristi was hospitalized and chemotherapy begun. But unlike the first six months of chemo, which she tolerated well, this time it knocked her down hard. By the fifth and last day she couldn't even hold her head up. And her recovery was much slower and more complicated. Two days out of the hospital Carrie was reading to Kristi about Dorcas and how she had been resurrected. Suddenly Kristi became restless, then delirious, and within minutes had stopped breathing. The end came so quickly. But as we've looked back, we marvel at God's timing. Kristi's last thoughts were of the miracle of being raised from the dead.

Living through Kristi's illness, we learned so much that we'd like to share with others who have a seriously ill child. First, take one day at a time. Share your burdens and needs with close friends who can support you. Consciously create memories you can treasure later. Enjoy what you still have. Don't let anticipated loss spoil your fun now. If the disease is terminal, plan ahead, so when the end comes and you're grieving, you aren't burdened with decision-making. And trust in God.

Even through sickness, pain, and death, God is in control. Are you willing to make Him the Lord of your life and trust Him with your most valuable possessions—the members of your family?

Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.