Weekend Read
Over the years I have kept a personal journal. Perhaps you will be blessed by my “ramblings”
and maybe it will encourage you to write your thoughts, convictions, concerns,
prayer requests or feelings as well.
The following is a letter to my firstborn son born
October 1958:
To Blake: Written January
7, 1986 :
You are my first-born and always hold a very special
place in my heart. The Lord’s hand has been upon you since
you were first conceived. You were
stubborn and did not want to leave your comfortable, warm place of
nurture. Labor was thirty-six hours long
and I almost decided to forget the whole thing.......and then a miracle
happened. You were only 6 lbs. 15 oz and
such a precious gift from God. You were
‘perfect’ and Dad and I thought you were the most beautiful and perfect baby
that ever had been born. In fact you
were far more handsome than I ever anticipated a baby could be. Your little head was covered with long dark
hair and I loved every inch of your tiny fingers and toes and active little
limbs. You were also the smartest little
boy in our eyes; very clever and always
ready to recite some little poem that Auntie “Edo” or myself taught you.
We were so blessed by your birth.
When you were 4 or 5 years old, you started complaining
of bad tummy aches. They got so bad that
Dad and I took you to the emergency hospital one night. We saw Dr. Watkins who told us you needed an
appendectomy. We were willing to do
anything to ease your pain so we agreed.
We left you at the hospital that night, after you fell asleep. When we returned the next morning we were
shocked by your appearance, as a matter of fact, we did not recognize you. The Doctor had to take us to your bed before
we realized it was you. You had retained
fluid and were bloated beyond recognition.
It was a terrible day for Dad and myself. We were afraid for you and did not know why
this had happened. We were just kids
ourselves and hadn’t a clue what was going on.
Later we learned it was the filtering system leading to your kidneys
that weren’t working properly. The
Doctor assured us it was treatable and told us not to worry.
Just as you were hesitant about entering this world,
you also were hesitant about responding to this medication. Your condition worsened, even changing
Doctors partway through did not help.
Finally the Doctor told us they had tried everything and there was
nothing else to try. He said you would
probably not live to be 12! Dad and I
were devastated and very sad.
There were many people who knew about your sickness
and many spent hours in prayer for you.
One day the Doctor called us into his office and informed us of a new
drug on the market that he thought might work for you. There were 9 children in Canada on this drug and they did not know the side effects
yet. Of course we agreed to try it. We did not have medical insurance and this
new drug was very expensive so in order to help us out some good-hearted people
would slip us money every now and then to help us out. We are thankful to them even now and haven’t
forgotten about their generosity.
After some time, we realized this new drug was working
for you. What a blessing and an answer
to prayer. When you were 12 years old
the medical profession gave you a few more years to live. Taking you off the drug was a challenge
because it was a personality altering medicine and so we had to wean you off
the high dosage you were on. Five years
later the Doctor’s decided you were totally cured and gave you a clean bill of
health.
It is such a blessing to know God never leaves us alone. Even when I was not walking with the Lord, he
never left my family or me. His hand has
always been on our family. Your life was
a confirmation of his love and faithfulness.
I know, because God spared your life as a little boy,
he has plans for you and one day he will use your life as a vessel to bring
hope, peace and unconditional love to others who are in need of it.
There were a few years when you seemed discontented,
which goes hand in hand with being a youth.
You decided to take your life into your own hands and moved out of your
childhood home saying you did not want to follow our rules anymore. Your
little brother decided to go with you and you both went to make your own
fortune in the world. This was not a
‘fun’ time for our family and many tears were shed. At this point in a child’s life, a parent can
just hope and pray that they have instilled a firm foundation in their child’s
life and trust God to guard them and let them go.
I am so thankful that even when our relationship was
tested, the love we tried to show towards you was always evident in your
attitude to us. You seemed to be able to accept it as well as give it.
There are several years in your life, I am not
familiar with. Those were your dating years.
You must have had your heart broken several times and probably broke a
few also, but that is all part of growing up and necessary.
One day you met a lovely young lady and fell in love
and became a husband! What a blessing
that was and what a wonderful wedding.
You were such a ‘beautiful’ couple.
I am so thankful for Bonnie and the love you share. Please don’t ever take each other for granted
or become complacent with each other.
Now you are a Father of a beautiful daughter! What a wonderful miracle! Love her always and remember that fair
discipline is a large part of love.
Now we are selling the house that you grew up in and I
know that you find that difficult to accept but you will adjust to the idea and
home, will still be home (Mom and Dad’s)
no matter where we live because our love will always be wherever we
are. Our memories are always with us
also, some good, some not so good but even the not so good, I am thankful for,
because we learn from them. Thank you, my eldest son , for the love you have
given me. I pray that one day you will
truly experience a personal relationship with Jesus who has always loved you
even more than I ever could and that’s a whole bunch!
Blake, accepted Christ as a personal Saviour shortly
after Sarah, their daughter was born.
They have been a huge blessing to my husband and me. They are parents of 2 additional sons, Tyler
and Isaac. They are actively involved in a Bible teaching church.
What a treasury of a mothers love ♥ Well written My Mom! We, as a family, are so very thankful for the perseverance of the medical field, the prayers of the faithful and the blessing Blake has been to our family over the years and continues to be no matter where we all may live! Love YOU Blake! ♥
ReplyDeleteAwesome story,about my cousin,always knew he was special!!Thanks,Adena, for the wonderful story!You're family is blessed to have a Mother like you!!
ReplyDelete