My Mommy's Sick Today....A Children's Story

I had a few minutes after my last doctor's appointment and as I waited for Jason to get me I just felt so inspired to write this little story about what my kids might be going through. When I told Jason he said, "Who does that? They have 5 minutes and just write a story like that?" Well, it isn't me. They are God's words, I just feel like I have to get them down on paper as fast as I possibly can. In this case I was putting it in my iPhone as fast as I could.

I have thought about writing a children's book for a long time. Who knows, maybe this will lead to something in the future and God is just getting me warmed up. Anyway, here it is.

My Mommy's Sick Today

My mommy is sick today.
Not like tummy sick or cough sick.
She is a different kind of sick.

My daddy told me she has what they call cancer.
I don't understand everything they talk about
and at first I was very afraid.
But my mommy told me that everything was going to be okay.

"Don't be afraid," my mommy told me.
"I will be sick for a while but the Lord will protect me and keep me safe."
She went on to say, "By your next birthday Mommy will be okay."

At night when I lay there and try to sleep-
I ask God to make my birthday come very fast.
Not so I can get presents like I normally want,
bu so my mommy will be all better again.

My daddy told me that my mommy has to go through something called chemotherapy.
This is where they give my mommy medicine to make her better.
She gets very tired for a while and sleeps a lot.
But after a while she starts to feel better again.

When she is sleeping I tip toe into her room.
I make sure she is okay.
Sometimes she is awake and I sit with her on the bed.
Sometimes she even reads me a book or just lay there and snuggle.
Those are my favorite times.

I wish my mommy wasn't so sick.
But just like when I am sick and she takes care of me-
I am going to take care of her.

Every day I make sure I say my prayers.
God, please take care of my mommy and make her okay.
And if it's not too much to ask - make her cancer go away.

Kearyn's Story....Part 1

Most of our friends and family know the struggles that we have gone through having our four children. I have not hid the fact that we have lost 5 babies due to miscarriage and the pain that we have experienced through those losses. Many of you were there when we lost our little boy last year half way through my pregnancy and witnessed and even experienced some of the heartache that we went through. Many of you may be asking yourself at this very moment what this has to do with Kearyn as this is suppose to be her story. A story of joy and laughter not one of such heartache. My answer to you....everything.

I am often  asked why we didn't give up on having our children. Why we didn't stop trying after our second, third or fourth miscarriage. My answer....God didn't let me. I tried to give up, I really did. There was a point where I said that I could not take anymore heartache and that I was done. I remember having that very conversation with Jason, my husband, as if it were yesterday. I told him that we were very blessed to have ours son, Cale, and that he would probably be the most spoiled child on the planet but he was our blessing and I was going to cherish every minute that I could with him. A few months later I surprisingly found out I was expecting Ky, our second son. Twenty-two months after Ky was born we had Creide, our third son.

When I found out I was expecting our fourth son in February 2009 our heads were spinning a little but we had a great deal of joy in our hearts. When we lost him my world was rocked to say the least. I found myself in such a dark place of grief and sadness. A despair that I had never known before. I had let my guard down. We were well past the first trimester. I had allowed myself to fall deeply in love with this baby and then so suddenly he was gone....

To make things even worse I had physical complications that went along with the loss and it was the only time in my life where I truly wondered if I was going to make it. I remember praying to God over and over that he keep me here for my boys. God was faithful and kept me here for my boys. It took me four months to recover physically but much longer to recover emotionally. (I am not sure if that is a journey that I will ever actually complete to be honest with you.)

Then there was that whisper I began to hear once again. A whisper from deep in my heart. A promise that God had placed there years and years before. A promise that I would have four children. As we read in Isaiah 7 about the promise of  the birth of Jesus it was like He wrote his promise to me to have my four children just as clearly in my heart. I just kept feeling this tug to try again, try again, try again. But every time I would talk to my husband about this he was not so agreeable. You see, he was the one that had to scoop me up that night and rush me to the hospital. He was the one left waiting in the waiting room as they took me back to the operating room. As I was put under he was very much awake. He not only lost his baby that night but he had so nearly lost his wife as well and he did not want to risk that again.

But as time went on God spoke into his heart as well and he agreed to try one more time. That was only the beginning of this journey. The beginning of this story. Kearyn's story.....

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our precious baby girl's story....

Kearyn Jaedance Gressman

May 31, 2010

Praying in Public....

My mother-in-law actually passed on the following story to me and I thought I would share it. We always pray at mealtime even if we are at a restaurant and one of the boys almost always prays for us. I am sure I wouldn't be too happy if someone did this to one of my kids. Fortunately, we usually receive a favorable reaction from those who overhear my children praying. Anyway, I thought I would pass this on and see what you all thought of it....

THE STORY BEGINS....

Last week, I took my grand-children to a restaurant. My six-year-old grand-son asked if he could say grace.
As we bowed our heads he said, "God is good, God is great. Thank you for the food, and I would even thank you more if Nana gets us ice cream for dessert.. And liberty and justice for all! Amen!"

Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby, I heard a woman remark, "That's what's wrong with this country. Kids today don't even know how to pray. Asking God for ice cream! Why, I never!"

Hearing this, my grand-son burst into tears and asked me, "Did I do it wrong? Is God mad at me?"

As I held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job, and God was certainly not mad at him, an elderly gentleman approached the table.

He winked at my grand-son and said, "I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer."

"Really?" my grand-son asked.

"Cross my heart," the man replied.

Then, in a theatrical whisper, he added (indicating the woman whose remark had started this whole thing), "Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes."

Naturally, I bought my grand-children ice cream at the end of the meal. My grand-son stared at his for a moment, and then did something I will remember the rest of my life.

He picked up his sundae and, without a word, walked over and placed it in front of the woman. With a big smile he told her, "Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes; and my soul is good already."


The End