She's special

She's special.

There are alot of little girls in my life, who I am very grateful for!

My nieces,

Little ones in the nursery at church,

Daughters of friends.

They all bless me and fill a little part of my heart that has always been reserved for the little girls that I thought I would some day nurture.

I can smile, see God's sense of humor, and wisdom, in giving me a house full of boys. Most of the time I am completely surrendered to this unexpected turn to my life. This mom to all boys thing. And I can see that God has filled that corner of my heart in other ways. Not in having daughters, but in little girls who have been placed in my life to love on.

So, there's this one little girl - sweet, spunky, and sassy as the day is long.


I anticipated her birth with her parents. Couldn't wait to meet her, because I knew she would be a significant part of my life.

Her parents had asked me to be her caregiver during the day, while they worked. This is no small thing to me. Being entrusted with some one elses new little one, fresh from heaven? That's trust. It's a privilege.

At the time, I only had K, and the days of weekly doctor appointments and very high maintenance were beginning to calm.

So, we added little miss Lily to our daily routine. She was 6 weeks old when I started watching her. Tiny and sweet. She was a good baby. I loved all of her girly outfits. She definitely added alot of femininity to my days.

I watched her for a few years. We added her brother, Adam, to our days a couple of years after she first came. They multiplied the fun and chaos of our home.

 2007

Their family is part of our church, our young couples Sunday school class, and our small group. Kind of like family.

Last Friday Lily went to the ER with a high fever.

 -And  by that night she was admitted to a larger hospital, hooked up to an IV, while her family processed her diagnosis.

She has leukemia.

She's 7.


She's a trooper.

Scared, but brave.

Tired, but not losing her spunk.

Her parents are radiating God's peace. You know, the kind that passes all understanding.


I went up to see her on Saturday. Kind of for her, kind of for me.

She had just had a blood transfusion and was perking up alot.

She had just found out that she would be losing her hair. She cried.

I wished I could tell her it was all just a bad dream. That she could pack up her coloring books and replace the little hospital gown with bright, fun, little girl clothes.

Hospital gowns shouldn't be made in little sizes like that.

I wished I could look at her parents, my friends, and tell them that their little girl's blood test results had accidentally gotten confused.
Messed up. 
That 7 year old's don't get leukemia.

But they do, and she does, and this is another chapter in their story.

Theirs is a story that not many experience. More heart ache than we humanly think we should see in people who are good and kind and hard workers.

We see the hurt and the bad. The ugly, scary, and painful.

It takes alot of faith to see the good; to see any good.

But it's there! We are seeing it in a church that is banding together tighter than before,

In faith that is stretching, and growing, and becoming more and more ready to see mountains move.

We are seeing it in families hitting their knees in ways they haven't for years, or even ever before.

We see it in silver linings that are obvious.

We see it in two individuals, who desperately love their children, taking a deep breath, standing tall, and saying, "okay, this is what's been given, we'll take it in stride. We'll do what we have to do to take care of our family, and give God the glory."

That's pretty wow to me.

Of course they cry,
of course they would do anything in their power to not have to watch their little girl struggle with a nasty disease and harsh treatment.
Of course.
But, even if they can't see it while in the midst of tough, the way they have stepped up and are shining through the process, has God's fingerprints all over it.


She's really special guys, and I would love for every one who reads this to please pray for her.

They have started a facebook page with updates on how things are going. Check it out to be able to pray more specifically for this situation.

The silver linings are good, and doctors are very hopeful for remission within a month.
But she's 7, and these treatments would be hard on anyone. 

She's going to have her very own personal story of God's goodness beyond what many will have. He's going to use it. I know He will.