Make-A-Wish

A few months after Hannah was diagnosed we were going through the mountains of paperwork with our social worker. One of the forms she handed us was from the Make-A-Wish foundation. We looked up at her, shocked and a little afraid. She smiled, obviously accustomed to this response, and said that your child doesn't have to be dying to be eligible for a wish from the foundation. A life-threatening disease like cancer qualifies them. We never knew this, but were thrilled. We were able to meet with the two volunteers assigned to us this week while we were at the hospital for Hannah's appointment.

You can see from this picture how my kids instantly fell in love with these two amazing women. Did you catch the word volunteers? These ladies have careers and families (at least one of them has small children - I didn't get a chance to ask the other) and they have given countless hours to volunteering for organizations like Make-A-Wish. They both had taken off of work to meet with us. This experience of meeting them was very convicting to me! I have used the excuse that I have small children and I am therefore too busy to volunteer for things right now - maybe later in my life. What a great example this is to me to live my life differently and more meaningfully!

We were able to spend more time chatting with Holly, the volunteer on the right. I asked her why she volunteers for the THREE different organizations to which she donates her time. I half expected her to say that she had a sibling who battled cancer or something like that. Her answer was that she grew up in Memphis and her parents were always good about taking her to visit the patients at St. Jude Children's Hospital. It made an impression on her and now she continues to give back with her time. Wow! What influence there is when we teach our children through our actions and not just our words! Her parents included her in their volunteering/giving and now she is carrying it on in her life and the next generation with her own children. Because of her parent's actions, she is continuing to make a difference in many children's lives - including my kids! This was definitely a lesson in parenting for me.   I want to be intentional to involve my children in service to others and giving of our time.

Thank you Meredith and Holly (and Holly's parents)!