Articles
Lisa’s Story
Beauty from Ashes By Dirk Lourens
After six years of marriage, we had the privilege of parenting two wonderful children. They brought such joy to our lives. We felt like there was space for one more though, and when Ronel, my wife, fell pregnant with our third child, we were elated. God had guided us through some tough times with our second child and this time we felt like He really broke open some dynamic truths about life. We were less stressed and could put our focus on the new little life from an early stage.
We named our new daughter Lisa, which meant “God is my Satisfaction”. Lisa was due to be born on Wednesday, 29 May 2019 and Ronel and I made all the lastminute preparations for her arrival. This was our third child, so we made sure Ronel and Lisa’s suitcases were packed and everything was ready by the
previous Sunday. We went out for lunch at a local tea garden as a family of four for the last time on the Sunday. On that Sunday and Monday evening the
children, Ronel and I prayed for Lisa and told her how excited we were to meet her, to have her as part of the family and that she did not need to be afraid.
On Tuesday morning at 02:00 Ronel started experiencing severe contractions
and by 3:30 we were up and on our way to hospital. It was one day earlier
than the scheduled due date for the caesarean.
Ronel’s parents, who also lived in Nelspruit, were there in a flash to stay
with our other two children who were still fast asleep. We were booked in
at the hospital and were ready to meet Lisa. The nursing staff had some
difficulties charting some of the vital signs, but we were due in theatre and
were rushed through.
At 06:01 on 28 May 2019 our daughter Lisa was born at 3.18kg. Immediately
after her birth time was called out, it was followed by the words “Something
is wrong”. She was rushed to the paediatrician. He listened to her chest. Gave her oxygen. Listened to her chest. Gave her oxygen again. Listened again. Then turned to me and said, “There is no heartbeat”… and just like that our beautiful Lisa was gone.
However, this is not a story of trauma and hopelessness. This is a story of life
and grace. As we tried to grapple with the loss of our little daughter for whom
we were so ready, God’s protection, love and comfort never once left us. We were overwhelmed by the prayers, encouragement, tears and love that we received and still receive from our friends and church family.
We were shattered, but God’s serene love never let us fall further than a certain point. We were distraught, but we were not hopeless. We were bruised, but not broken. We knew and believed a fundamental truth – that God is always good. He is not the orchestrator of tragedy and loss. We live in a broken world and because of that we are not immune to the pain and suffering it brings.
God is not the cause of the destruction, but He can take the pain and death that we have been exposed to and turn it into life and hope. What was meant for destruction, He can turn into something glorious that brings restoration to us and to others.
In our journey to restoration and healing, one area that was specifically traumatic was the moment in the theatre when Lisa’s birth-time (06:01) was called out and followed by the words “something is wrong”. We relived the moment repeatedly, like Groundhog Day, because it was part of only a few memories we had of her outside of the womb.
When Ronel was back at home again, we prayed together in tears that God
would come and help us to have a different view of what happened. And
He did: Just after Lisa passed away, one of our friends sent Ronel an image of a huge lion standing next to a female figure. We didn’t pay much attention to it at the time, but it became very significant to us later.
As we prayed together we experienced being back in the small theatre again. Ronel was helpless on the operation table. However, this time the theatre was filled with an angelic host. It was so full that I had difficulty in seeing what was transpiring. The theatre was sealed off. We were standing on holy ground.
Next to the bed, right next to Ronel, stood this huge lion. It was the Lion of Judah, the King of Kings. Death had been defeated and our Lisa was already with Him. There was no fear and there was no hopelessness. Lisa had fulfilled her life’s purpose within the 9 months that we had with her. She was safe and we were so proud of her and loved her so much even though we missed getting to know her more. We will be seeing her again one day. We will never forget, but we will always have hope and victory!
Dirk and Ronel Lourens are both Speech & Hearing Therapists in private practice in Nelspruit. About a year after they lost Lisa, a son, Phillip, was born to them and they now have three children, Annabelle (9), Simeon (6) and Phillip (2).
