Giving Thanks

It is the week of Thanksgiving. Sounds strange. Especially since we have so much to give thanks for every week of the year. But, none the less, tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day and I feel drawn to tell the story of the heroic journey of a little girl and boy, for whom I am so grateful.

She was 8 years old. Her little body was suffering from an auto-immune condition that landed her in a Children's Research Hospital in Chicago. She suffered immeasurable pain and lost the ability to do anything at all for herself.

He was 7 years old. His big sister was in a hospital over an hour away and mom was there with her, leaving him to go off to a new school every morning and come home to a woman he didn’t know. All he knew was that it wasn't his mom.

We had only lived in South Bend, Indiana for a month when this muscle disease grabbed hold of Emily and very rapidly began to eat away at her muscle fiber, leaving her profoundly weak. She could only bear weight for a second or two before her legs would give out. She had to recline to eat, because swallowing was nearly impossible. She was not responding to the standard treatment of Prednisone so we were told to take her to La Ribida Children’s Hospital. Once there, she began a regimen of medications that were essential, however, life threatening. And she began an even sharper decline. Her speech was quiet and labored. Her weakness increased. She was completely bed-fast, without strength to raise a hand to dry the tears that would trickle down her cheeks.

Meanwhile, back in South Bend, our church family…  most of whom we had not yet met… stepped in to care for Justin after school each night until his dad got home from work. Having just moved into the area, we discovered that his previous school had been quite a bit behind and he was expected to know things he had not yet been taught. His little world was filled with anxiety. Mom and sister were gone. School was so hard. He hadn’t made any friends yet. Every day he would be so distraught he would throw up before going to school… but wouldn’t ever consent to staying home, because he feared falling farther behind. The way he persevered through those dismal days was nothing short of heroic.

Six months later, her Dad got transferred back to Fort Wayne and Emily got to come home to regain strength, surrounded by family that loved her. Justin got to have his family intact and fall into the role of “big brother” to his older sister. He would take her for walks in her wheel chair and make her laugh and as he helped her joy return, she began to improve. He was truly her hero, and ours, as we watched him love her back to health. 

It may seem like a sad story… and it was a very sad time in our lives… BUT, it was also a time of tremendous gratitude. We all learned the value of many things we had taken for granted. Before we moved back to Fort Wayne, we attended one last service with the wonderful church family that had ministered to us in our darkest days and Emily asked the pastor if she could sing a song for them. Her dad carried her wheel chair up onto the stage and held the mic while I attempted to accompany her on the piano, tears brimming in my eyes. In spite of all she had been through, and all the work ahead of her, these are some of the words she sang…

“Thank You, Jesus, for all You've done.
Thank You, Lord.
Thank You, Jesus, for victories won,
O thank You, Lord. 
For Thy love and tender care,
For Thy Word and answered prayer.
Thank You, Jesus, for all You've done.
Thank You, Lord.”

John C. Hallett Ruth G. Hallett © 1948 Renewed 1976 Word Music, LLC

Such a struggle she had endured. Pain that was off the charts. Inability to even hold a fork to feed herself. All of her independence taken from her. Yet, in spite of it all, her heart was full of thanks because in those darkest hours she knew that Jesus was providing all the victories, however small. And she was thankful.

Are you missing the blessings of your faithful Lord because you are only seeing the trials, and not His presence with you in those trials? Take a lesson from my kids and look a little harder. Then, give thanks!

Happy Thanksgiving!