Sadness and Lessons

It's been an interesting day. I went to the hospital again to visit my sister in law and give her some company for a bit, I'm certain she's probably tired of those four walls in the hospital. So I got there we visited for a while, it was nice, that particular sister in law and I haven't spent alot of time together, and I'm a bit closer to her sister than her. but we got along great and I think we are closer for it. :)

The other part of my visit was visiting my own sister in the hospital, luckily she isn't sick, she's a nurse. She is a pediatric oncology nurse. Yup, you heard correctly, she works with kids with cancer. And yes, it is hard. In fact today was a little harder than most. I called her to let her know I was there, I wanted to stop by and say hello and see where she works (I've never been there) and she said she'd be glad to see me and in fact why don't we grab lunch, she said "It would be nice to see you, I lost one of my little patients this morning." *sigh* so how could I not agree to wait a paltry hour and 45 minutes to have a bite to eat with my sister. You know, people say that God doesn't speak to us, they just aren't listening. God told me this morning, "Family is so important, spend time with them while they, and you, are here." He did not speak with words, a note or email. He didn't whisper in my ear, or come as a voice in my head. He did not speak through a preacher, pastor, or priest. He spoke through a 3 year old little boy with cancer, who is now in the arms of Jesus listening to a bedtime story.

I waited in the waiting room of the pediatric clinic, it was brightly colored and had a play area full of water color drawings obviously done by children. There were parents with children waiting their turns to see the medical staff. There was a little girl about 3 yrs old, with blonde hair and pink flowery dress, that looked so much like my niece, except she had a surgical mask on. Her mom was so encouraging, and the nurse who came to get them told her what a good girl she was for wearing her mask. The little girl agreed and replied "It keeps out the bad." I later walked through the pediatric ward and saw her in a bed with her mom feeding her lunch, she evidently had come in for some kind of treatment.

I admire my sister so very much, I wonder if she knows just how proud I am to be her sister. Don't worry I'll tell her, I'll let her know, believe me I don't let those opportunities pass by very often. I was happy to have lunch with my sister, I waited for an hour and forty-five minutes and didn't care a bit. We only had a 1/2 hour and we scarfed down some fries and chicken sandwiches, but we talked and laughed, I hope I brightened her day and when I left her floor she thanked me for being there and gave me a hug, a good one. I hugged her back and said, "sure, anytime".

Thank you God, for my sister in law, I hope I brightened her day, and gave her some company. Thank you God for my sister who is so strong as to take care of those who need so much. Thank you God for putting me in the right spot at the right time, I hope I brought her some happiness today, and thank you God on behalf of the family of the little boy, for the 3 years he was on this earth to share time with them. Thank you for reminding me that we should all hug our loved ones a little closer, and never pass up a chance to "grab some lunch". His few years were not in vain, he has touched my life as well as many others. Though I did not know him, he's in my heart. Thank you Z. 2003 -2006.