Eulogy for Aisha Howell

What Do We Need?

Isaiah 66:13 “As one whom his mother comforts, So I will comfort you; And you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.””

As a child when I did not know what to do and got tired of being stuck I would ask my mother. Sometimes I was embarrassed, sometimes I was anxious, sometimes I was nervous. No matter the emotion my mother entreated me with open arms and gave me advice based on what she thought was best for me and what she believed would be in the best interest of me following the will and way of God.

A mother is a comfort during a turbulent time, a mother is a resting place when life gets rocky! To navigate life without a mother is never the way God intended things to be. Nonetheless the God we serve is a God that says I will never leave you nor forsake you. It’s the times when we have no where to look but God is when He provides the most comfort.

Grace and mercy arrive when we find ourselves rejoicing over the memories we have.

Joy arrives when we find out that one day we will be reunited with those we lost on earth never to be separated again.

I’m reminded of 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.”

God is a God of all comfort

His ability to comfort us in the midst of our trial is so we can comfort each other.

The blessing is as sufferings increase the closer we are with God our calling increases.

If we are afflicted our calling turns into salvation.

Salvation is effective because salvation provides endurance. God comforts us because He knows that our collective call is to comfort each other.

Tap in to the love and mercy of God. When a soothing conversation is not enough and no one seems to understand what I am going through the love and mercy of God will sustain me enough to keep pushing forward.

Remember everything the enemy does is to destroy your faith. Remember that comfort comes from God. Discomfort is a tool of the enemy to keep us from pushing toward our consolation.

The only way we are going to get through this is to rely on God. 2 Corinthians 1:9 says “in fact we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.”

In this moment you are going to have to have faith in the God that has power over death.

In this moment you are going to have to have faith in the God that has power to provide us with the comfort we need even when things get tough.