Remembering Aser

It has been a year since I lost my nephew Aser Teshome to cancer. It has been a very hard year for his mom Genet and our family.
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Aser was a brilliant boy with a contagious smile. He used to play my computer games and he built a big virtual city on SIMCity app. He also wrote some poetry which was beyond his years. His favorite thing while in bed, was playing with Siri asking her some personal questions which she couldn't answer.
During the year he was in hospital, he asked me very difficult questions. He asked me “Miheret why did God said he loved Jacob but not Esau?” And “why am I sick?”
If you were in my place, how would you answer such questions posed by a 14-year old boy struggling with cancer? He was hoping to get answers, so I tried to explain the story behind these questions.I started from Genesis all the way to Revelations. I showed him the context why and how God chose Jacob over Esau. I found this article very helpful to read.

Today I am not just writing with pain and sorrow about Aser, but instead I have great hope and faith that Aser is with Jesus in heaven. Yes, I missed him dearly but I found strength and comfort from God’s word and I look forward to seeing him one day in heaven. The Apostle Paul said “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”  
God doesn’t leave us to suffer alone. I find comfort in these verses from the Bible
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1. “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God stricken by him, and afflicted.” (Isaiah 53:4).
2. “Blessed are those who mourn,  for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4).
3. “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3).
4. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3, 4).
5. “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).
6. “Even though I walk through the darkest valley,[a] I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff   they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4).
7. “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13, 14).
8. “ in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed….. Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ” (1 Corinthians 15:52, 54)
9. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[a] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

May you also experience His comfort, no matter what you face.
Previous blog post about Aser : Saying Goodbye Aser