Snippets from Maggie’s book

I wanted to let you know that Maggie’s book is coming along quite well. 

The structure of the book is built around the 9 fruits of the spirit. Each fruit will have stories from Maggie illustrating that fruit, along with pictures drawn by Maggie illustrating the stories. Along with that, I’ll have my own stories, giving my own perspective on the things Maggie was talking about. Her stories will speak to children and parents, mine will mostly speak to parents. 

Below is a little outline and snippets of what she is working on.  I’ll likely be pulling from the website journal and emails that I sent out during the past three years, as well as adding some new stuff like the suffering devotion I posted earlier.

The working title of Maggie’s book is ‘God and Maggie’. We are building upon these stories, and this will serve as the foundation of the book.

Self Control:
I have to have an MRI every three months. I have to be very still and it is hard to be still. I do not take any medicine to help me hold still. I have to ask God to help me. Sometimes I get scared that I will have a seizure in the MRI machine. I do not think I could stay still in the MRI machine unless’.

Joy:
I remember it was a cold day when I found out I did not have cancer any more. I was outside playing with my friends and I had had an MRI the day before.  I was really nervous about what it might be. My daddy ran outside and told me I was well. I was so happy.

My best friend is Ashley. She went with me on my Make A Wish trip to the American Girl store in Chicago. I was not sure if I was going to get to go to on my trip because I had been so sick. It was my birthday, too. The best part was when we got home, the doctors told me that I didn’t have cancer anymore. 

My sisters Anna Kathryn and Zoe are so funny.  They laughed and played and tried to make me feel better. I love them so much.

Love:
One of my nurses was really nice and she gave me a book of poems. I really like poems and she knew it.
 
My mommy taking me to chemo every day.

Nurses

Long suffering:
I left to go to St. Louis in October and I stayed there for two weeks. I really missed Anna Kathryn and Zoe and Dax. Being away from them is the saddest part of going to the hospital.

Leaving’..

I knew when the doctors first told my mommy and daddy that I didn’t have cancer that they were wrong.  I knew something was wrong with me and that I was just going to have to wait until they found it.

Gentleness:
My best friend Ashley used to come lay with me on the couch for a long time when I was not feeling good. Whenever I was sick, she would lay down with me all day.

Dax is my brother and he used to help mommy by giving me medicines through my chemo port.  Whenever I was sick or nauseated’

My doctors….

Faithfulness:
People all over the world praying for me. The thousands of cards I got while I was in St. Louis reminded me that I was loved and that people were praying for me.

I was very scared before one of mybrain  surgeries, but I told my mommy to tell the surgeon that it was ok if he messed up.

I never knew I needed God before I had cancer’.

Goodness:
Having Thanksgiving Dinner brought to me by my church while I was in the hospital for my first surgery.

Ms. Kit who wrote a song for me so that my daddy could have money to pay for my chemo.  It is called Maggie’s Song and is very beautiful.  I listen to it all the time.

Peace:
No tumor

Our book

The book that Maggie and I are writing together is going to be great. Here is what we are doing.

We are framing the book around the fruits of the Spirit: Galations 5:22-23  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

With each fruit, Maggie is drawing out the fruit as lived out during the past 3 years – either with people helping us, her feelings given a certain situation at the time, her thoughts, etc. She then talks about the situation from her perspective. Along the same lines, I write from the perspective of parent regarding the same situation. It is proving to be very insightful and I hope that when we are done, it’ll be a resource that will be of value to others going through trials, and provide them some hope.

Sent Kathi away for a week

It became apparent to me last week that Kathi was in desperate need of some time away. So what did I do? I booked her a ticket to Tupelo Mississippi to spend a week with one of her best friends.

I have to tell you – We have some great kids. They miss their mom very much, but it has been very smooth. They have been cleaning, doing laundry, doing their school work, etc. We’ve had take out food almost every night, and each night has been movie night. It has been much smoother than I first thought.

Now, I won’t kid you – I’m ready for Kathi to come home. I’ve come to really appreciate how much she does for our family. It is amazing how much I have come to depend on her.

See you Saturday, Kathi!

A Devotion – suffering

– Rob Bushway

I was asked to give a devotion at a client site last week and wanted to pass it along to You.

Two years ago, Maggie met this man named George. It was a very special day because the elders of our church were going to pray for Maggie and ask God’s blessing on her as she began chemo the following week. Well, George was in that room, too. You see, George, like Maggie, was beginning his chemo treatment the following week as well, and the Elders were going to pray for him and ask God’s blessing upon him as he began his journey.

Within a couple of weeks of starting chemo, George lost his hair and proudly showed off his bald head to Maggie at church. Tired of pulling clumps of hair out of her own head, Maggie decided that that she wanted to shave hers off and be like George. She wanted a little bit of control over what has happening to her. Whenever George saw Maggie at church, he would always seek her out, bend his knee, and talk to her eye to eye. As George’s battle with cancer got worse and Maggie’s battles continued to get harder, George always made it to the hospital to see Maggie, even during times when he could hardly drive.

The Lord brought two folks together who couldn’t be more opposite, to be each others strength and encouragement: a 58 year-old man with grandkids and an 8 year old little girl. Both aligned with Christ’s suffering and walking the blurry line between heaven and earth.

George died last month, 2 days before Easter.

It was during that Easter service that the Lord gave me a little glimpse of His church – the invisible church.

We were singing some Easter song that I don’t even remember. While singing, I started looking around. Three rows in front of me was George’s wife, Kathy. The only thing I could see was the back of her head, but I could tell that she had the biggest smile on her face as she stood there praising God that her husband was celebrating Easter with the Man who gave him new life.

Four rows in front of her was my best friend, Rob. He was there, worshipping Christ, with his 4 kids, ages 3 – 12. Standing beside him, clasping his hand, was his 6-year old little girl, Maggie. She was wearing the purple bandana that her mother wore throughout her battle with cancer. She died four months earlier. 

To the left of him was a man named Doug. Sitting beside him in a wheelchair was his daughter, Sarah. Sarah is 14 years old. She hasn’t been able to see, talk, or walk since she was born. I watched Doug gently wipe the saliva from her face. Doug and his wife will care for Sarah for the rest of their lives. 

On the stage was our choir director, leading the choir and the congregation in worship. 6 months ago, his 24 year old daughter, who was 5 months pregnant with her first child, and his first grandchild, suddenly died of a brain aneurism. The baby died, too.

Singing in the choir was a former pastor of our church. 5 years ago, he came under church discipline for inappropriate behavior and lost his job with the church. Singing in the congregation was his devoted and loving wife.

Just as we were finishing up the song, Maggie came walking through the back of the church and stood beside me. She whispered in my ear that she wasn’t feeling well and asked me if I could hold her. I sat down and cradled her in my lap.

Here we all were, gathered together on Easter, worshipping. It truly was the only place we could be.

During that song, the Lord showed me that His church – the invisible church – is made up a suffering people.  A group of people knitted together through pain, prolonged trials, persecution, and betrayal. They are a people who long for heaven in deep, rich ways. They long for heaven because, through their suffering, they were finally able to really, really see  and experience Christ.

You all know that a grain of sand caught in on oyster shell will produce a pearl because of constant irritation  - irritation that will not go away, not fixable, and the results only fully realized  years later.

Maggie’s tumor was really small. Compared to the size of other tumors found in the brain, hers could be described as a grain of sand. That grain of sand, though, has proven to be quite the irritant, providing Maggie and our family with tremendous battles even after being removed. However, that grain of a tumor has become a beautiful, glorious pearl in our lives, a pearl that we will treasure and be thankful for. That pearl is suffering.