Warm and Cozy on the Inside

Every Monday, my favorite radio station has a segment called MAD Mondays. MAD stands for make a difference and although I totally agree with their philosophy that we should all try to make a difference ( Most days I force myself out of bed  just to make a difference); I don’t think we should limit ourselves to Mondays only. And today when I listened to the feature story for this Monday, I was blown away at a young child’s desire to make a difference. The boy who quickly captured my heart and caused me to cry after I had already applied my make-up was a young boy from Indianapolis battling a rare form of cancer. (Have I ever mentioned that I HATE cancer?) Currently he is in a hospital away from his hometown and he misses his siblings and his friends very much. Despite his own battle with cancer and his own emotional rollercoaster; he decided that he wanted to do something for the other children at the hospital in case they too were missing family and friends. So this six year old boy (yes, I said six your old), set out to collect 1,000 pillow pals for children in hospitals all over Indiana to ensure that they had something warm and comforting to hold onto while they were enduring their own hospital stays.

I know that we are instructed to have faith like a child and I can honestly say that I do but today I wished I had this specific child’s heart of love and compassion. I didn’t carry his heart around in my chest today but I did carry MAD story inside my heart all day. And tonight when my heart was attacked with a pain so real it became my own; I pulled this story out of my heart and allowed it to be the strength that kept my heart beating and my lungs breathing. One of my friends has renal cell carcinoma and she is 24 years old. (Yes, I said 24 years old) And tonight she was admitted to the hospital and her doctors said she needs a miracle for survival because her body is shutting down. As I sat in a hospital that reminds me solely of cancer; I watched as her family desperately needed something warm and comforting to hold onto. I didn’t have a single pillow pet but I did have Jesus. I had Jesus coming out of every single pore in my body. And when I couldn’t find a single word that would ease their pain, calm their fears, or restore their hope; I could find comfort in Jesus. I could find comfort in His word that He puts above His own name. I could find comfort in His presence that was holding us all together as we wanted so desperately to fall apart. I could find comfort in His love that joined complete strangers in a waiting room praying for the same result. I found His comfort in the healing power of His blood that I knew was washing over my friend as she slept. And I felt comfort in my constant prayers I knew were going straight to my father’s ears. I couldn’t offer advice to a grown man dealing with a whirlwind of emotions that were stirring inside of him as he watched his girlfriend of almost a decade go in and out of consciousness. I couldn’t mend the brokenness of two parents trying desperately to protect their baby girl. And I couldn’t aid in the helplessness of knowing her brother who is serving in the United States Military won’t be able to fly home until tomorrow.  My lack of physical abilities and my severe emotional pain allowed me to rely solely on Jesus and in doing so I felt the warmth of His hand around my shoulders as I cried and I felt the warmth of his body as I collapsed into His lap.  Because of a little boy battling cancer himself; I was able to make a difference today because I allowed Jesus to be my warmth and my comfort. I allowed Him to take over a situation and use me to share His warmth and comfort with a family who will not endure their current trial without Him.

When we are faced with the most trying times in our lives; we long for something familiar that will ultimately relieve our pain and fears and make us feel warm and cozy on the inside. Is Jesus your pillow pet? Is He the one in whom you find your comfort? I promise you friends, when you lay your head upon Him; your body can’t possibly feel any more warm or cozy on the inside.

Verse to remember:  Psalm 23: 1-5

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

 ² He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
   He leads me beside the still waters.

 ³ He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness
         For His name’s sake.

 ⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
         I will fear no evil;
         For You are with me;
         Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me