Letters to God

Billy and I went out last weekend to celebrated our belated anniversary.  After a yummy dinner at Southern Roots (love that place!!), we wanted to go see a movie.  As we looked at our options we decided on Letters to God.  We have both wanted to see it, but knew it would be difficult.  We were right.

The movie was great.  It is the true story of the director's son's battle with medulloblastoma that took his life.  The characters were all endearing and heartfelt.  The movie skimmed over a lot of the aspects of the childhood cancer journey, but stayed true to it's message of faith and the path to salvation.  Tyler was a boy who knew God's purpose for his life.  In his short time here he led many people to walk with Christ.  His simple heart for others and desire for God was inspiring. 

Especially precious was his best friend, Sam.  Watching her lose her best friend was especially hard.  There was also some attention paid to the struggles of Tyler's older brother dealing with his brother's cancer and the pressures on his mom.  This is a huge issue to cancer families.  There are so many things that could have been covered in the movie, but then I guess it would have been way too long.  There were many lines about the chosen calling of cancer kids that hit so close to home.  God has touched each one of these courageous kids in a profound way. 

Also in the movie, Tyler's "wish" is granted and his family visits Give Kids the World.  They did not really explain much behind the village or its purpose, but there were a few glimpses of its magic.  They did show the mailbox added by Tyler for family's own letters to God and his brother sang an amazing song about life with cancer.

So when you have the chance, go and see Letters to God.  Check out their website were you can post your own letters.  Find out more about the incredible Give Kids the World Village, their inspiring founder, and their endless work for families. We are eagerly counting down the days to Julia's once in a lifetime visit in less than two weeks!!

On the eve of "scan day", Julia is doing great.  She is full of life, energy, and playful inspiration these days.  She is talking a mile a minute in a constant streaming monologue of her thoughts and observations.  We are excited to see all our friends in clinic tomorrow.  We have lots of hugs and smiles to share.  Julia can't wait to show off her new hair and hand out some very special hugs. 

As this day is now upon us, we are facing the realities of this unknown journey.  When talking to some other cancer moms in the past months I have heard over and over again that you learn to live in the spaces.  In the beginning of cancer, we lived life in chunks of several hours.  In time this became days, then weeks.  Now we live in three month spaces between scans.  We are learning more and more every day how to fully embrace each day as a gift and blessing.

We pray for a smooth visit tomorrow, positive progress at her physical and labs, clear views for all the scans, wisdom for the techs and radiologists, unveiling if their is anything in her body we need to see, and strength and wisdom for us to give God the glory and point others to Him in every interaction.  And as we rest in God's peace, Billy's new tattoo summarizes our outlook...