Absence, Hope..

Absence from whom we love is worse than death, and frustrates hope severer than despair.

~ William Cowper ~

温かい心の内側にはおまえが閉じる

愛が行方不明に離れている場合は、しかし、何となく暖かい気持ちで心の内側はおまえが近いです。

~ ケイクヌーセン ~

Isaiah 40:11

11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.

Jeremiah 1:17

17. “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them.

Keep On Singing

Like any good mother, when Karen found out that another baby was on the way, she did what she could to help her 3-year-old son, Michael, prepare for a new sibling.

They find out that the new baby is going to be a girl, and day after day, night after night, Michael sings to his sister in Mommy’s tummy.

The pregnancy progresses normally for Karen, an active member of the Panther Creek United Methodist Church in Morristown, Tennessee. Then the labor pains come. Every five minutes, every minute. But complications arise during delivery. Hours of labor. Would a C-section be required?

Finally, Michael’s little sister is born. But she is in serious condition. With siren howling in the night, the ambulance rushes the infant to the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Mary’s Hospital, Knoxville, Tennessee. The days inch by. The little girl gets worse. The pediatric specialist tells the parents, “There is very little hope. Be prepared for the worst.”

Karen and her husband contact a local cemetery about a burial plot. They have fixed up a special room in their home for the new baby now they plan a funeral. Michael, keeps begging his parents to let him see his sister, “I want to sing to her,” he says.

Week two in intensive care. It looks as if a funeral will come before the week is over. Michael keeps nagging about singing to his sister, but kids are never allowed in Intensive Care. But Karen makes up her mind. She will take Michael whether they like it or not. If he doesn’t see his sister now, he may never see her alive.

She dresses him in an oversized scrub suit and marches him into ICU. He looks like a walking laundry basket, but the head nurse recognizes him as a child and bellows, “Get that kid out of here now! No children are allowed. The mother rises up strong in Karen, and the usually mild-mannered lady glares steel-eyed into the head nurse’s face, her lips a firm line.

“He is not leaving until he sings to his sister!”

Karen tows Michael to his sister’s bedside. He gazes at the tiny infant losing the battle to live. And he begins to sing. In the pure hearted voice of a 3-year-old, Michael sings:

“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray…”

Instantly the baby girl responds. The pulse rate becomes calm and steady.

Keep on singing, Michael.

“You never know, dear, how much I love you, Please don’t take my sunshine away…”

The ragged, strained breathing becomes as smooth as a kitten’s purr.

Keep on singing, Michael.

“The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in my arms…”

Michael’s little sister relaxes as rest, healing rest, seems to sweep over her.

Keep on singing, Michael.

Tears conquer the face of the bossy head nurse. Karen glows.
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“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. Please don’t, take my sunshine away.”

Funeral plans are scrapped. The next day, the very next day, the little girl is well enough to go home! Woman’s Day magazine called it “the miracle of a brother’s song.” The medical staff just called it a miracle. Karen called it a miracle of God’s love!

Never give up on the people you love.

Matthew 9:29

29. Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”;

May be

A Chinese story, kind of a Taoistic story about a philosophic farmer.

One day, the farmer’s horse ran away, and all the neighbors gathered in the evening and said ‘that’s too bad.’
He said ‘maybe.’
Next day, the horse came back and brought with it seven wild horses. ‘Wow!’ they said, ‘Aren’t you lucky!’
He said ‘maybe.’
The next day, his son grappled with one of these wild horses and tried to break it in, and he got thrown and broke his leg. And all the neighbors said ‘oh, that’s too bad that your son broke his leg.’
He said, ‘maybe.’ The next day, the conscription officers came around, gathering young men for the army, and they rejected his son because he had a broken leg. And the visitors all came around and said ‘Isn’t that great! Your son got out.’
He said, ‘maybe.’

Lesson: you never really know in which direction progress lies. Life unfolds not always as we expect it to.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

~ Psalm 46:1-3 ~

Teddy and the Perfume

As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of
school, she told the children an untruth. Like most teachers, she looked at
her students and said that she loved them all the same. However, that was
impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a
little boy named Teddy Stoddard. Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year
before and noticed that he did not play well with the other children, that
his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. In addition,
Teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would
actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making
bold X’s and then putting a big “F” at the top of his papers. At the school
where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child’s “past”
records and she put Teddy’s off until last. However, when she reviewed his
file, she was in for a surprise.

Teddy’s first grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is a bright child with a ready
laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners… he is a joy to be
around.” His second grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is an excellent student,
well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a
terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle.” His third grade
teacher wrote, “His mother’s death has been hard on him. He tries to do his
best, but his father doesn’t show much interest and his home life will soon
affect him if some steps aren’t taken.” Teddy’s fourth grade teacher wrote,
“Teddy is withdrawn and doesn’t show much interest in school. He doesn’t
have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class.”

By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself.
She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents,
wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy’s. His
present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a
grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other
presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone
bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter
full of perfume. But she stifled the children’s laughter when she exclaimed
how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume
on her wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough
to say, “Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to.” After
the children left, she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she
quit teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach
children. Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked
with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the
faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the
smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all
the children the same, Teddy became one of her “teacher’s pets.”

A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that
she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life. Six years went
by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had
finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher
he ever had in his whole life. Four years after that, she got another
letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he’d stayed in
school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the
highest of honors. He assured Mrs.Thompson that she was still the best and
favorite teacher he had ever had in his whole life. Then four more years
passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got
his bachelor’s degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter
explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. But
now his name was a little longer…. The letter was signed, Theodore F.
Stoddard, MD.

The story does not end there. You see, there was yet another letter that
spring. Teddy said he had met this girl and was going to be married. He
explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was
wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit at the wedding in the place
that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom. Of course, Mrs.
Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several
rhinestones missing. Moreover, she made sure she was wearing the perfume
that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together.
They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson’s ear,
“Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so much for making
me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference.” Mrs.
Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, “Teddy, you have
it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference.
I didn’t know how to teach until I met you.”