The Precious Gift of a Daughter's Smile
Recently we went through a battle with a close Christian family who attended our elementary school. Their daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumor at the tender age of 6 years old. There was 14 months of prayer, healing services, good news, bad news, treatments, joy, pain, renewed hope and desperate despair. Through it all the father faithfully e- mailed everyone on the prayer list no matter what he was going through emotionally. He would always start with, "Dear Praying Friends" and then it would continue with... today was a hard day...or today we got some miraculous news... or today we were able to go out and have a normal family outing. She went to be with the Lord a little over a month ago. The last e- mail telling all her friends of her passing is the one I most remember. She had not been coherent for days. She was being kept comfortable with pain meds. She had miraculously out lived all of the doctors' expectations. This night the father was with her attending to her labored breathing. I cannot imagine the grief he felt as his daughter suffered physically! All of a sudden his daughter sad up and had a smile on her face. She had not smiled for weeks. Since she was so coherent, he said to her, "If you see Jesus and His angels, you should go to Him!" And she went to be with Jesus. That father had to unselfishly let her go. But he had the joy of seeing her smile once again.
If you have read other blogs or sat in the chatroom with me, you know that my daughter recently went through a break up with her boyfriend. For 2 and a half weeks, she looked like she had seen a ghost. That bright vibrant smile and sparkle in her eyes was gone. One night she was chatting with her friends online and a smile came over her face. She kept smiling as the conversation went on. I realized she was chatting with the guy who had broken up with her (they are the trying the friendship thing). I closed my eyes and thanked God for allowing me to glimpse that smile. I knew it wouldn't be there forever and I would soon be consoling her again. And that came all too soon. But I relished in the moment. Then I thought of the father and how much his daughter's smile meant to him. Tears filled my eyes. My daughter was just caught up in high school love problems and his never made it to high school. I realized that I have to appreciate all of the small stuff before I am given big stuff. And that God heals broken hearts even when you ARE dealing with the big stuff.
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Author: everfaithful
Location: Carlsbad California USA
Gender: Female
Age: 51
Blog Entries: 73 (archive)
Blog Comments: 286
i have been happily married for 25 years. i have 2 children ages 20 and 22 (i guess they really aren't children anymore) we just moved to san diego county area where my husband and i chose to retire. i currently teach in a program called kids college an after...
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i was adopted by christian parents at birth. i feel blessed that god allowed me to be born and gave me christian parents. i am an only child. my father was my rock and 2 years ago he died from lung cancer. he was 85 and god allowed him to...
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