Thursday, November 22, 2007

A Miracle This Thanksgiving

As I stated in an earlier post, a member of our family is ill.

My cousin, and Lynn (my mom)'s nephew and Godson Andy was diagnosed with an inoperable, malignant tumor on his brain earlier this month. To read more about his illness and Andy you can go here.

Despite all that has happened, Andy is one of the most amazing, positive kids. He is only 12, but he if you read his journal entries on the website, you see there is a much older soul present. Although we live just a few hours apart, Andy and I see little of each other. Through his illness, God has given us the miracle of being reconnected.

This morning, on the Today show, they were profiling St Jude's Children's Hospital. There is a possibility that Andy may get some treatment at St Jude's and it has always been a favorite charity of mine. One segment was of a little girl who is receiving a bone marrow transplant. As her mother fought back tears, she explained the surgery, while miraculous, was also scary and she was afraid that all would not go according to plan. At this point the little girl interrupted her mother to tell her not to be scared because, "St Jude will take care of me."

Yes the wonderful doctors and nurses at St Judes will care for her, as will St Jude in heaven. The miracle is not only a surgery that could cure this little girl, but of her faith that no matter what, she will be taken care of. And that is Andy's miracle this Thanksgiving as well.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Hallelujah!

As if we didn't already know many of its benefits, now we know this about breastfeeding. It is always reaffirming for a mother to know she's doing her best for her kids.

Thanksgiving

This year, our family has much to be thankful for.

Our little girl turned one.

Our son was born.

My husband found a good job and is making great progress in school.

We have family that loves and cares about us.

Thanksgiving is a great time to remember all the blessings God has given us. It is also a time to realize that sometimes, God's direction seems contrary to us.

Our cousin (Lynn's nephew and godson) has been ill recently. His illness is fairly extreme, but I will limit the description to that at this point to protect his privacy. He is only twelve-years-old. Of course, when we hear of a child having an illness, we all think, "Why would God do this?" Who could be thankful for this?

A co-worker of mine's son was gunned down a month ago in town. His mother is a woman I adore who is friendly, sweet and a wonderful mother. Why did God allow this to happen to her?

This Thanksgiving, I am not only thankful for the obvious blessings, but for the blessings of all the people in my life, because God can call them home all too soon.