| Sunny Side Up October 31,2001 �2001, by Kathleen Gibson No Halloween for Emily--Send prayers instead She should have been out collecting treats tonight. Maybe she would have been a cat with a long fluffy tail, and maybe her mother would have been waiting on the sidewalk to hold her hand and tell her to pick up the tail so it wouldn�t drag in the mud. But six-year-old Emily isn�t out Halloweening with her big brother Brogan tonight. Even if she were, not all the treats in all the houses on all the streets could fix the vicious trick that is wreaking havoc in the compact little package that is her body. Acute leukemia, the doctors said. She�s in Saskatoon now, for further testing and treatment. Her grandmother, Joyce, called me to ask for prayer. Within days of Emily�s diagnosis Joyce lost her job due to company downsizing. It would be natural for her to be just a tad bitter. But she surprised me, as I�m always surprised by faith wherever I find it�even in myself. �I know scripture says to thank God in all circumstances, and it is hard,� she admitted. �But God is in control. I just can�t quite see what he�s doing right now.� I�ve survived a few crises of my own. Like Joyce, I�ve learned that in the midst of them it�s impossible to understand what God is doing. We�re blinded by our circumstances, can�t even see him, wonder if he�s paying attention to this crooked swirling planet at all. Sometimes that hurts most of all. But Joyce continued in a thoughtful tone. �I�ve been thinking about the Bible story of Joseph�how his brothers threw him in a pit and then sold him. If he could have known the end of his own story, how he�d one day be the salvation of two nations, he would have been truly able to thank God for the pit! I don�t know the end of our story. Pray for me, when it�s dark, that I�ll be able to trust, and one day give thanks.� Wouldn�t it be nice to skip to the last chapter of our own books? We would know then what God is doing in those dark times when we feel so alone. Instead, God gave us the only thing that pleases him, something that is always rewarded�when we use it. Faith. Faith believes the things it can�t see; it visualizes the things we fervently hope for. It places a trusting hand in the hand of the one who stilled the water, the only one who can bring peace to a troubled heart, healing to a disease filled body. I don�t know much some days. But I know this. God knows the end of Emily�s story. And Joyce�s. His angels are at their posts, and the Man from Galilee will take his children through. Right to the end of the book. That�s the best treat of all. If you�re a praying person, pray for Emily and her family. It�s the most you can do. You can respond to this column at [email protected] |