Last night we pulled the Christmas boxes out of storage so the young ‘uns could decorate the little trees in their rooms.
As my boy carefully unwrapped his decorations, he came across one rather plain and homey ball, not the nicest of ornaments by far... yet the most meaningful to me.
Six years ago Will was in an intensive care room at the Hospital for Sick Children in downtown Toronto. He had contracted RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) and this would be one of his worst days. Unable to breathe on his own for nearly a week now, his condition was worsening with only a small area of one lung able to process a portion of the oxygen being forced into him through a ventilator. We spent the better part of the day wondering if every Christmas to follow would be a memory of losing our son.
That was a long and sad day. But a lovely nurse at the hospital had brought in a few little ornaments and hung them on his hospital bed. And they stayed up there, dangling on the side bars, getting banged and dropped until Will left that bed and that hospital – a healthy little boy.
In the kindness of His providence God spared the boy and yesterday we went man-shopping at Princess Auto! What a blast to have him running down the aisles, grabbing some big tool, and saying in his loud voice, “Whoa! Dad! Look at this!!! WHAT IS IT?!?!”
That little red ornament represents 6 years of grace!
Man, that's cool.
ReplyDeleteWhat a tremendous gift Will is to us!
ReplyDeleteAs we got out our ornaments also, it was like going down memory lane. I read a thing this week that said ornaments are like a part of the family that you only see once a year. I treasure the ones that the kids have made. The ones where they have done their 'very best'-crooked scissor cutting, big, funny gingerbread smiles, and wild painting. I am reminded that that is how my life looks to God. I am sometimes so pleased with how I've done, but despite the mess, when God looks at it he sees a treasure of grace that He handles with loving care. (Thankfully He doesn't put me in a box for a year!)
Merry Christmas!
Jessica
That is a great story. I especially liked the Princess Auto part ;) Seriously though, I am thankful that God in his kindness preserved your sons life. It is great to have that sort of reminder around.
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