“For God has not given us a spirit of fear,
but of power and of love and of a sound mind”
As amazing as the medical world is and as advanced as it becomes and changes on a daily basis there are still times when a life cannot be saved. Long before one is considered terminal many turn to God in prayer as they struggle with a medical issue. Your life has changed when you are facing death and if you are a survivor you embrace your second chance and your life as you knew it is forever changed. If you are faced with the news you are terminal you embrace God and work on accepting that He is now inviting you into His Kingdom for a life of eternal happiness and never ending health.
As amazing as the medical world is and as advanced as it becomes and changes on a daily basis there are still times when a life cannot be saved. Long before one is considered terminal many turn to God in prayer as they struggle with a medical issue. Your life has changed when you are facing death and if you are a survivor you embrace your second chance and your life as you knew it is forever changed. If you are faced with the news you are terminal you embrace God and work on accepting that He is now inviting you into His Kingdom for a life of eternal happiness and never ending health.
What does a child do when they are facing a terminal illness? How do we help them cope with the end of life that has really only just begun? There is help available for you as you watch your child die. There are options for you to choose from as you try to make the remainder of your child's life comfortable and pain free. There are others who will assist you in helping your child understand they are facing death and what that means to them.
I introduced my blog followers to eight year old Grace (my little Amazing Gracie) as together her and I blogged about her life, and her death. Gracie allowed us to spend the final months of her life with her as she revealed to us her strength as she was dying. Gracie's parents welcomed us unselfishly into their lives as they dealt with the upcoming death of their only child. We saw death invading their lives from inside their hearts, and from the inside of the mind of the daughter slipping away from them.
Gracie was born on Jan 20, 2004 and died on May 27, 2012. I met Gracie on Nov 19, 20012 and I had visited her last on May 27, 2012. I first blogged about Gracie on Feb 4, 2012. I knew Gracie for a little over six months of her very short life lived on earth. I feel as if I have known Gracie for my entire 22 years on earth. One of the last wishes Gracie relayed to me was "I wish that no kid ever again has to die, but because God needs them in His park, my wish is that more people like you becomes their friend and is not afraid to watch them die."
I promised my sweet little Amazing Gracie friend that I would continue to befriend terminally sick kids at the Children's Hospitals in Boston MA as well as hospitals around the world as I travel. In return she promised me to meet all my angels that are, or will arrive, in heaven before God calls me home. I know she has kept her promise and I am keeping my promise.
It is something that I have continued to do, keeping my promise to Gracie. I continue to meet some of the most amazing, courageous kids of all ages as I stroll through hospitals. I am not their medical consultants and I am not their care giver. I am their friend. I am the guy that listens to their stories, reads to them from books that interest them. I talk to them about their hobbies and their interests. I cry with them when they want to cry, I laugh with them when they want to laugh. I play barbies with the girls and superhero with the boys. We color pictures and watch TV.
And I learn from them. Each child I have spent time with teaches me more about life than any adult I know. Through their demise I also learn about death. The children I spend time with will not survive their earths journey. I know that going in and they know that going out. Sometimes they want to talk about that and tell me how they feel, what they think. When they do I tell them how brave they are and how much braver they are than any super hero ever. They do not hesitate to tell me to be brave too and they go on about all the reasons why I should be brave with them. Kids like to talk about God and I love to listen to their take on eternity and what it means to them. I love hearing them describe to me what they think heaven is like.
I get to met their parents and grieve with them way before their child's time on earth is done. I listen to their stories and work with them to find comfort as they face an unbearable pain that is known only to those who have lost a child. I pray with them for strength as they face the known truth, that which is that their child will soon be gone from their physical world.
It started with little Amazing Gracie and it leaked over into my nieces and nephews and I continue to be amazed by the children I meet in my life. Not just the sick children I spend time with but the children around me through friends, family, my church and even kids running through the park. It is amazing to watch these miracles from God and witness a faith and love so big, so unconditional, then I've ever known. The trust, the innocence, the hopes, the dreams. The way a child looks at the world, the hopes and wishes they dive into with complete belief, little hesitation.
I recall a conversation Gracie and I had regarding fear. She showed so little fear in everything we did together, very little hesitation in what we were doing. Her decisions were solid and she knew what she wanted and when she wanted it. I remember that she started the conversation by asking me if I was afraid that she would die. I told her yes, and that I was afraid of how badly I would miss her. I asked Gracie if she was afraid. "No", she answered me, "the angels told me that God said not to be afraid. The angels said that God said to tell me "Fear not for I am with you."
