Say Hi to Jesus For Me, prayer in difficult times, cancer, children

"Say Hi to Jesus For Me": Chapter 7

Disneyland, here we come! Todd had been to Disneyland when he was very small, and he didn’t remember it. Niqua had never been there. We planned a great day.

Mickey Mouse and Robin Hood and Little John were there, and the children said hi to them. Robin Hood grabbed Todd’s baseball cap off his head, and we have pictures of Todd looking around to see who took it and of his happy smile when Robin gave it back.

Dutch and Todd rode the Matterhorn, and we all rode the train around to different "lands". There was so much to do, so much to seem, we hardly had time for lunch!

Todd’s seventh birthday found us at the Los Angeles Zoo. We invited all his friends to come with us and had a picnic with all the trimmings.

Todd wasn’t feeling very well, and we were concerned that we may have planned too much for him. My emotions were mixed that day. It was wonderful to share the children’s joy as they watched the different animals. What an experience it was for their inquisitive minds. Yet I kept asking myself, "What if this is his last birthday with us?" How could I bear the thought?

Faith! The word seemed to leap out at me from the pages of the Bible:

"According to your faith be it done to you."

"Your faith has made you well."

"He said to them, ‘Where is you faith?’"

"If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed _ _ _ "

Faith! I needed it---lots of it. And if Todd was to have a miracle healing, I didn’t have years to grow in faith. I needed it now.

"What if I don’t come up with enough faith?" I asked myself. "If I don’t come up with enough faith, Todd is going to die! And it will be my fault!" I felt a trap closing tighter.

"Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done _ _ _ ." I needed to give up my will for Todd and pray that God’s will be done, even if that meant God would take Todd.

Our hope and fear during this time are reflected in a letter I wrote to Dutch’s parents:

Duane is taking it better than I am. I have talked so much about children being gifts of God and not possessions, but it sure does test your faith when it comes right down to it. We want to hang on. We do think that Todd would be better off it he could die. It’s just that we are so selfish and human we want him to live. Isn’t it great to know that if he dies, he will go to heaven?

Todd is such a good boy. In his last report card he had 10 Es for excellent. And he deserved them. Whatever he does, he has to give it his best. Perhaps he is to good for this world and the Lord is calling him home early. We’ll know someday.

Todd has his own ministry. People halfway around the world are praying for him, and non-Christians are watching to see how our faith helps us through this.

Friends, too, were hit by the shock waves of this illness. One couple cried out to God in a prayer, which they lovingly presented to us:

A Prayer for Toddy

by John and Kathy

Dear heavenly Father, Toddy is very sick, and no one here knows what to do about it. he is such a little guy for an illness so drastic, and we are all too weak to accept what is happening to him. We love him so much.

It seems unfair to you that we pray in time of need, but I think you know that our hearts are with you always, and you are the power, the love, and the way for all of us.

It also seems unfair for such a little boy of six not to have the chance to enjoy the life you gave him.

We are human and do not understand Your way sometimes. If Toddy has almost completed his mission on this earth, he must be very strong, very beautiful, very blessed, and very much a needed soul in Your work up there.

If that’s the case, grant us the strength to accept it and always take care of him for us. But if there is some way he can help You and still remain with us, please, please, help him overcome this illness. He brings so much love, so much joy, and so much kindness to us. We need him.

One once said that faith moves mountains. We may lose everything but faith in Your wisdom and decisions, because we know that you want the best for Toddy as well as we do.

We say these things to you in the Name of Jesus Christ, Who gloriously completed His mission on this earth and returned to you for greater love. Amen.

Still there were times when we cried, "Why God? Why Todd? Why us? Why the anguish? Why the suffering?" Then the Holy Spirit led to Hebrews 12:

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation which addresses you as sons?--"My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage when you are punished by him. For the Lord disciplines him whom he receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? _ _For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

One night I dreamed that I handed Todd over to the Lord. The dream was so vivid that I almost felt the weight of Todd’s body on my arms. And Jesus accepted him. After that I felt relief. Todd was the Lord’s responsibility. He would care for him.

My desperate search for adequate faith gave way to trust in the perfect will of God. The Lord supplied simple faith like that of the leper in Matthew 8.3: " ‘Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.’ And he stretched out his hand and touched him, saying ‘ I will; be clean.’"

Now I could praise God when the news was bad and even confess to Him my unbelief. It was His mercy that would save Todd, and He would supply the faith we needed. Now my vision was again clear, and I looked to the Giver rather than the gift.