I was preparing supper on Friday night to say good-bye to our friends and family in Kenya. The week leading up had been filled with packing bags, handing tasks at Living Room over to other team members, and saying good-bye to so many people that we love.

Many thoughts were in my mind, many emotions in my heart.

The journey leading up to us this point of actually leaving Kenya had been so windy and steep. Six months of knocking on government doors, navigating unknown systems, asking and advocating, seeking court orders, attending hematology clinics, caring for sick kids, visa appointments, obtaining insurance, and choosing a treatment center. The goal of actually getting medical care for the boys had felt like such a long shot, improbable at best, was finally our next step.

On that Friday evening, as I was cooking supper to say good-bye to our neighbors and the rain was pouring on our tin roof, I overheard Sharon, Ryan’s 11 year old sister, talking to him as she pushed him on a pink tricycle. She said: “God is good, Ryan, all the time. All the time, God is good.” In that moment, the beauty of this truth struck me. It wasn’t a cliché. It wasn’t a pat answer to minimize the hard of this world, the hard of our lives. It was simply truth spoken from a child. A child who has lost both of her parents to death. A child who is preparing to give part of herself to save her sick brothers. A child who somehow hasn’t lost hope or faith in the midst of poverty, injustice, loss and grief.

Sharon’s words to her baby brother were of God’s goodness, a reality that is not based on our circumstances nor dependent on a certain outcome coming our way. His goodness is a constant, and her words, in that moment, served as a reminder to my soul. God’s goodness is not something that I fully comprehend but desire to embrace and declare with the words of my mouth, the thoughts of my mind, and the actions of my life.