The LIttle Things

We continue to be busy working on our upcoming fundraiser for our nonprofit, Warrior Wagons, INC. And we are seeing such success already with local business sponsors, products/services donated for the event, and individuals contributing silent auction baskets and volunteering to help. It's amazing, really. I honestly didn't expect to have this much support, for it to be this easy to gather this community behind us.

It's also been a lot of work too, yet God continues to send me encouragement, just when I need it. In the last few weeks we heard from a couple different families that recently received a Warrior Wagon, and it was such a huge reminder and reinforcement of just what this is all about.

One Mom shared that she cried when the staff brought in their Warrior Wagon. To see her child happy and to see the care that was put into selecting the items which she knew would be so useful, caused her to be overwhelmed with emotion. Another mom described her Warrior Wagon as "life changing" to someone I know who chatted with her at St Mary's...

Wow. That really got me, and made me cry too. On one hand, because I'm so grateful that we can do this for people--that through God's grace and other's generosity we get to make those moments for these families.

But mostly, because I understand just why some cry when they get a seemingly simple thing like a collapsible wagon. It may seem dramatic or over the top--but I know where the tears come from, why it matters so much, because I have been just where they are.

When you are so beaten down, so desperate for anything positive in a world that seems so unfair and cruel as you watch your precious baby endure things no one should have too, small gestures matter. And they strike you so deep because it gives you just a little hope, that there still is good in the world. That people do care. And you embrace the joy it brings, even if just for a few minutes, because it may be the only few minutes of happiness you feel all day.

I remember when a family brought a gift to Drew early in his treatment. We'd met them in the play room at St Mary's earlier that day, this family was there with their own child going through a brain surgery. But they came to our room a little later with a small stuffed frog for Drew. It was that thoughtful gift from a virtual stranger who was in the middle of her own struggle, that brought me to tears almost exactly two years ago. I sat with my Drew, watching him play with it in his bed, hooked up to 3 different tubes from his IV pole, one filling him with antibiotics we prayed would work on his infection, so very touched by the love that little frog represented. Someone knew what this is like, and cares.

I remember how excited I was all day for a couple of my best friends to visit me and take me to supper when I'd been staying with Drew all week at the hospital alone. I remember when one of those same dear friends gave ME our wagon to haul my Drew around and it was the most useful thing. Pizza anonymously delivered to our house, my favorite popcorn being shipped to me, a friend who sent me flowers after we got the really bad news...I could go on and on sharing the kind things others did for us in the last two years! And each thing I can specifically recall, and remember how much it meant to me.

 

These last couple weeks hearing from some of our new Warrior Wagon families really affected me because I've been just where these mothers are. I know how much small gestures of kindness from others really can make all the difference in your life. It was powerful to be reminded that there are moms just like the me of 2 years ago, so desperate for something good in such an awful world. And I'm left wishing I could do more than just offer them a Wagon and the possibility of companionship.  I cry for them because I was them, and I know how very hard it is. 

And yet, because I've been there, I know that what seems like a little thing like a collapsible wagon, really can make a difference. So as I have continued to ask for support, plan entertainment, organize volunteers this week, I have this renewed sense of purpose. Maybe we aren't changing the world through our Warrior Wagons, but I know we are changing some family's world, even if just in a small way. THAT's why we are working so hard right now.

And the reality is, it's not just moms of cancer kids at the hospital that are in that desperate state for something good. It could be the lady in front of me at the grocery store, who may be going through a nasty divorce and her whole world is crashing down. Or a woman beside me at a Y class that just miscarried, again, and is consumed with disappointment and frustration. Maybe the person that just cut me off after the stop light has just lost his job, and the fear of what-am-I-going-to-do has him too distracted to follow basic traffic laws. My point is, we just don't know where others are at in their lives, whether one nice compliment or some kind words will be what saves their heart that day.

In a way, it's almost easier to give to those obviously in need, but what about the ones like those examples above that are suffering and no one knows about it? That's why we need to remember how deep the little things can penetrate and do those small act of kindness. Bring someone a coffee. Offer to watch their kids for 2 hours. Take them a meal. Offer a compliment, give people the benefit of the doubt. A simple text saying that you are thinking of someone this morning really can help.

If you're fortunate enough to have never been in that place where something nice someone does for you makes you cry, changes your outlook on life in a moment, you probably will be there someday. And then you'll understand why the little things really do matter. So slow down, look around you, and do what you can, not overlooking the little things.

I remember a day after we were told Drew "probably" wouldn't make it, and we were inpatient doing the clinical trial that would eventually fail. Someone had left gourmet coffee in the floor kitchenette--what a treat! Bingo was going on in the playroom and I decided to play a card while Drew played himself. I sipped the actually good tasting coffee, and I remember thinking how ridiculous it was that something like good coffee could be such a big deal, could have such an effect on my mood, but it did. And that morning I spent with my son, in what I was unaware were his final weeks, I drank my flavored coffee, and my life was a little brighter. I don't know who brought it in that day, but I hope they someday know how much we all on Mary Brigh 3 appreciated it.

Don't brush off the little things you can do for someone else.

May I never forget where I've been. May I never go too long, get too comfortable or too busy in my life to not appreciating the little things, and may I freely give the kind gestures I can in my everyday life. May I be a light that so many were to me, reminding others that there is still good in this world, even when the ugly is all they seem to see. People do care, and there is hope. May I never forget, and may you too always be conscious of the little things that make up each day, which in turn, make up our whole lives.

*** If you haven't heard about our fundraiser, or want to know more about Warrior Wagons, INC., check out our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/WarriorWagonsINC/ or website,  www.warriorwagonsinc.com  ****