A very special Christmas

This post has nothing to do with Europe, but I thought I would share it.

About a year ago, a family placed membership at our church. I knew nothing about them, only that they had a son named Cole who was 3 at the time. After a few weeks, I noticed him and his dad together. Both had shaved heads. I thought this was a pretty cool father/son thing...until my dad told me that Cole had leukemia. His dad had shaved his head so Cole wouldn't feel bad about not having any hair. I kept up with Cole's chemo progress for the next year through my mom who read Mrs. Casper's blog about Cole's medical progress. Just before I left for England, I received news that Cole was not doing very well. At the time, his dad had gone back to their hometown (since Cole was in Memphis at St. Jude Children's Hospital) for work. Cole's buddy was missing when he was needed the most. I wanted to cry for him. I left for England and didn't hear anything for a couple of weeks. Then, I heard that Cole was in isolation. How terrifying for a child so young to have no contact with the outside world - barely even his parents. I prayed for him everytime I thought about him. He had been so strong. Everytime I saw him, he always had a smile on his face. I never would have guessed Cole had been fighting cancer because he was so strong. That was the last I heard until this morning at church. I was blessed to get to sit a couple of rows behind Cole and his parents (Cole is about 4 now, I believe) and noticed that he was not as bald as I had remembered. I wondered if that meant he was getting better... The answer came just a couple of moments later when it was announced (and it was news to me) that Cole had been cured of his two year battle with cancer. I lost it inside. Tears welled in my eyes as I thought of the brave little child in front of me. He was so happy. Every time I've seen him, he has given me hope. Cole never gave up, neither did his parents, even when things got bad.

Cole will never know how he has touched my life. I doubt he will ever know how many people he has encouraged by just being strong. What a terrible thing to have to go through at so young an age, but how wonderful it is that he conquered with flying colors!

I know that Cole's parents could not have asked for a better gift for Christmas - their son, alive and whole and back in the game.

Sometimes, the biggest blessings come in the smallest packages.

God bless you, Cole, as you have blessed everyone around you.

Merry Christmas!

Aimee