In Dying, Kara Tippetts Shows Us God is Present in Pain

What does dying with dignity look like?

At 38, Kara Tippetts is answering that question as she faces her final days on earth.

In recent posts on her popular blog, “Mundane Faithfulness,” Kara shares how she now uses a wheelchair (which she named Norman), sleeps on a hospital bed at home, and is in hospice care.

These are harsh realities for a wife and mother of four young children to face. Yet she does it with God’s grace – a grace that has allowed her to give to others through her blog and book, even while she battles cancer.

That sense of supernatural strength and perspective was evident a few months back when I sat down with Kara, and her husband Jason, to record two broadcasts.

At the time, I shared how recording with the Tippetts was a unique experience that made the studio feel like holy ground. God’s presence was palpable as we spoke.

Kara needs that special closeness and strength from the Lord now more than ever. She shared in a March 10 post that her hospice nurse

…delivered us hard news… News I frankly don’t believe. She said how many days she feels I’ll remain, and I’m struggling to believe her. I do see where cancer is having its way with my body. Where I’m growing weaker or pain is growing stronger. It’s been made clear to me I’m fading. I’m just in denial.

And even though I, like most of Kara’s readers, met this incredible woman in the midst of her leaving, it’s still hard to believe the end is drawing so near.

I’ll leave you with a video Kara posted to her blog earlier this week. It’s a sad piece that gives a glimpse into how this family is processing the coming loss. In the video, Kara says, “Suffering isn’t a mistake, and it isn’t the absence of God’s goodness, because He is present in pain.”

Certainly, His presence is evident for all to see.

Please continue to keep our friends Kara and Jason, and their children, in your prayers. Please join them in asking God for more time.