Leukemia is a blood cancer that hinders the body’s ability to fight cancer. Some leukemias are slow-growing while others are aggressive. God willing, someday there will be a cure for not only Leukemia but all cancers. My cousin Charisma has been battling Leukemia for a long time coming and now God has given her rest and she won the battle by being in the presence of the Lord. Learn about the treatments scientists are looking into to find a cure for Leukemia. Right now there is no effective cure and many patients pass away if the first line of treatments fail with cancer returning.

The Homecoming of Charisma

The Hebrew word shava means to cry out loud, to shout to #God as#Jesus did on the cross but the Bible reminds us time after time to not hold on to the pains and sorrows of this life. Instead, God promises to bring us up out of the grave and into the morning where sickness, pain, sorrow and death no longer exist. But where is this day? They say luwn the Hebrew word for only a stop over. It’s only a stop over. This indescribable joy is only a stop over.

My beloved cousin Charisma has made a fine service to the Lord as a child of God, a loyal #wife, loving #mother, grand-daughter, daughter, sister and cousin. Our#Leukemia Warrior, #Lupus advocate and everything else in between is someone who made this life journey all the more meaningful. And just like all the women in our family, never afraid to speak her mind or fight for what’s dear to her — #family. Every person who has ever been healed or lived on Earth has died. Even #Lazarus, the soul Jesus raised from the dead, died again. One of the hardest lessons we learn in life is that God doesn’t promise that our present bodies, whatever their condition, will stay healthy or last forever.

Instead, the Lord our savior promises us something more glorious and precious: a new body, like our present one, but also different, a body made for #eternity, for#paradise. This human body is like an earthly tent we live in and take down — when the Lord calls us home we die and leave these bodies made from dust in exchange for our home in #heaven, an eternal body made for us by God and not by human hands. My cousin #Charisma is a Fashionista and on this day, God gave her rest from illness and put on her heavenly body like new clothing. It’s not that she wanted to die. None of us want to die, but to slip into her new body so that the dying body will be swallowed by everlasting life is a day we all pray for in our hour of need. So we hold tight to 2 #Corinthians 5:1-4 , pray for my cousins soul, pray God for the strength for our entire family and all the lives that my cousin has touched.

Words of encouragement to baby Eliana

I know you’re not old enough to read, write or understand Eliana but I want you to know your mama loves you with all her soul. Eliana, your mother will look over you through all the days of your life and meet us all again when the Lord makes it so. Your mama has prayed for you since she was a little girl. Charisma always wanted a little family of her own and the Lord saw that she see that day. You are our family’s miracle baby and always will be. You’ve given us all hope and joy even before your first breath of air and you look just like your mama, grand mama and aunt. And even the days of your Mom’s last human form, your mother was alert of her love and care for you even through sickness. I can’t tell you what tomorrow brings but I can tell you, you come from love and a place of #faith. Know that the Lord, your mom and family will be here with love no matter what days come ahead. 

Thank you Lord for the gift of Charisma

Charisma, I thank the Lord for the privilege of having a soul like you for a cousin, crossing paths with me in this lifetime for both the laughs, tears and even a cold, wet morning to see the first black President of the United States. My heart feels heavy from what ifs, but my soul feels comfort in the way you lived this life for#God and family. I believe in #heaven and the greatest miracle of God. I know with God there’s no such thing as an unhappy ending because the Lord makes all miracles possible. Everlasting better days are ahead with the Lord. I find comfort that loved ones that have crossed over before you will greet you in #paradise and never again will tears run down your eyes or feel pain and anguish. When it’s my time to come to the Lord, I pray you, Anthony and each one of our beloved family find ourselves in the Lord’s Kingdom, greeting with open arms. In the Lord I pray, amen, amen. You can leave a note to the family here.