The Good Fight: A Story About Abi

     When I left Honduras, I thought all of the surprises were over. I thought all of the challenges had been completed, and that I could live comfortably with my memories until July when I go back. I soon found out that that was not true when a baby we took to the hospital later died, and I am having to experience that feeling all over again today. Last night I was informed that one of the girls we met at the orphanage, named Abigail, has passed away.
     Abi had been battling cancer, but you would never know that from her attitude. She had one of the hardest lives imaginable, battling cancer at such a young age while living in an orphanage where she was probably not given all of the comfort and support she needed, and yet I can honestly say that she was one of the happiest people I have ever met. She was always smiling and positive and ready with a hug when I saw her. She had lost a leg and used crutches, and it did not seem to slow her down at all. She had accepted her circumstances and made the best of them, and never complained about all of the things that would have been so easy to complain about. Her attitude was an inspiration to me.
     I know that I am supposed to be happy that Abi is in Heaven and is no longer suffering, and I am. But I am also very sad. I know what it feels like to lose a close friend, and I experienced something very close to that when I found out about Abi. I don't want to try to pretend that I understand this situation, because I really don't. Why would someone have to spend their whole life suffering, and then not even get to experience what it would be like to grow up and hopefully get out of the conditions she had to live in? Abi would have done such great things for her life, but all I can do now is try to accept the fact that this was God's plan for her. I know that she lived her short life with a happiness that some adults will never find, and I am sure that I am not the only person whose life she had an impact on. I don't have a way to tie all of this together with a pretty bow or attach some kind of moral to this tragic story. All I know is that I will always be grateful for what Abi taught me by living the way that she did.