A huge plate full of prayers

When Charlotte had her tumor resection surgery, several people came to sit with us as we waited through the 10.5 hour operation. One of them, Amanda, is the Pastor at our church. At the time she was pregnant, expecting their first baby. She sat with us, talked to us, prayed with us, and brought us a little peace and comfort during an unimaginably stressful day. Yesterday, we learned that their 3 month old baby boy, Owen, was suddenly very sick after battling flu like symptoms over last weekend and after taking him to the hospital, they found a brain tumor. Just like that, their world turned upside down. And the woman who sat and prayed with us just a few months ago, just sat through her own child's tumor resection surgery. And although Brian and I were not there to pray with her and for her little baby boy, we are here now. Along with our amazing village, can we all lift this family up as they await the pathology results? They will soon learn what type of brain tumor they are up against. Brian and I know this space they are in...the waiting, the worry, the dark blocking the light. I pray their faith shines through during this time, helping to guide them.  And I pray our collective prayers can reach God's ears as they begin this path to saving their baby boy.

Why is it every time I read anything about Pediatric Cancer, there is always "a rare childhood cancer" that prefaces it. It doesn't seem so rare to me anymore. When Charlotte was 6 months old, we all attended a St. Baldricks event where Brian shaved his head. All of us were the picture of health. Never in our wildest dreams could we imagine that the funds they are raising towards cancer research would benefit one of our own children. We were once a family not touched by cancer either. We once had a child without cancer too. We once looked on in both awe and sadness as other people battled for their children's life. Cancer affects us all.  Our journey to heal Charlotte so far has taught us so many important things as God has worked through us and through everyone we've crossed paths with. It has been a truly remarkable and life changing experience that has flooded me with the desire and gift to share what we are seeing, feeling, and experiencing. This is not meant for our family to witness alone. But what we are witnessing is fluid. It is always in motion, changing as we continue. It's personal but also universal. I believe we often go through life believing we are separate: separate nationalities, races, religions, political beliefs, etc. And there are, of course, major differences in beliefs out there which I know are natural and not to be changed. But the alienation and separation we create and believe in is an illusion. Separation and estrangement's are false. We are all connected in ways we cannot begin to imagine. What if we believed we are all One. What would solutions to our conflicts look like? What would people do to help find a cure if they believed this truth? When you believe one persons suffering is connected with deep roots to your own life's path, how would we be different? If we see the world and others in the world as "You", or atleast an extension of you, what would you do to self-preserve? Does God bring people into our lives and across our paths to help us understand this connection and this universal truth? When one moment we hold someone's hand, and in a blink we are reaching for a hand to hold ourselves?  I feel like this huge world is becoming a gigantic mirror.

Thank you for including baby Owen in your prayers. And of course, as Charlotte gets scans and disease evaluations this week, thank you so much for lifting her up so she can keep going, keep moving, and keep wowing us all🌈. Thank you God for this life, this fight, and this village we are surrounded by. May God bless you all❤️