Wink from Heaven: A Wink on a Cruise

Sunday, April 29, 2012

A Wink on a Cruise

One of Caleb's sweet nurses, Hailey, recently went on a cruise with her friends. She really touched our hearts with the photos and letter she shared with us. (Thank you Hailey- we love you!)

Dear Caleb,
I recently had the opportunity to go on a cruise with my friends, it was so much fun and very relaxing! The cruise line that I went through, Royal Caribbean, is one of the biggest contributors to the Make a Wish Foundation. You can imagine my excitement when I learned that the ship was holding awalk for wishes and selling T-shirts in which all the proceeds go to the foundation. In my heart I knew that I wanted to share a wink for you in some way. My friends and I went down to the Make a Wish booth where I asked the lady running it to take our picture with our special “wink” sign. I was able to tell her your story and what it means to share a wink. It was the highlight of my vacation! Caleb, you are always on my mind but one particular night I was all alone looking over the big blue ocean. It was so peaceful and calming, for a moment I could feel heaven close to me. I immediately thought of you and your sweet spirit. I prayed that you would know how much you’ve changed and continue to change my life. Now every time I look at the beautiful serene ocean I will think of you. I am so blessed and grateful to my Heavenly Father for the time I got to spend with you here on earth, but also for the time now that I get to feel your spirit close to me. I cannot express how much you mean to me and how much I love you. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for knowing me. Thank you for changing me. Thank you for blessing me. I love you so much sweet boy!
Love always,
Hailey

6 comments:

Janae said...: So precious, it made me cry! It is an awesome feeling when someone truly loves your child. My Shaylee gets to be a flower girl at our babysitter's wedding and she is so excited! I felt honored that she would love Shaylee so much and want her to be a part of her wedding!; April 29, 2012 at 8:56 PM
Unknown said...: ...this made me cry.
So much love!!!
XO; April 30, 2012 at 5:26 AM
shirlgirl said...: What a beautiful post and letter. Thank you for sharing this very special letter to Caleb with us and Hailey's pictures. She was put in the right place at the right time on that cruise ship. So glad she enjoyed her trip and the memories that she made and will keep with her forever. And, of course, she'll always have Caleb in her heart as we all do.; April 30, 2012 at 6:29 AM
Rebecca Raye said...: Ah, crying in the office reading this. Such a sweet, sweet boy. So sorry I didn't get to meet him, but blessed to know his story.; May 1, 2012 at 12:00 PM
Becky said...: I love Hailey. What a beautiful gift to sweet Caleb. This made me cry too. xo; May 4, 2012 at 9:29 AM
brigette said...: How awesome!!! You can tell the impact sweet Caleb made!!; May 8, 2012 at 8:07 AM

Prayer for Caleb

(written by Caleb's Grandma in her weekly column -2008-)

In my family we have a secret code to communicate our love for each other when we are out in public. We wink. When one of us is about to perform or speak, we look for a family member’s face in the crowd. Then we wink at each other. Closing one eye and winking is our secret code for saying, “I love you. You can do it. You’re wonderful.”

About three years ago, my grandson Caleb was born into our family. He must have known before birth that he would never be able to speak to us because he was born with one eyelid permanently closed. So, he is always “winking” at us, always communicating, “I love you. You can do it. You’re wonderful.”

Caleb has one eye lid permanently closed because he is missing one of his eyes . . . and he is also missing his brain. All the doctors said he would die soon after birth. They were wrong. Caleb is three years old. He is a medical miracle. The doctors say he can’t see, hear, speak, think or move. Those who know and love Caleb understand he has his own unique way of experiencing the world and communicating his love to those around him.

After Caleb was born the hospice people told us to buy a burial plot and continually warned us of his imminent death. We soon learned you can not live well in a state of fear and sadness. We decided we could spend Caleb’s entire life anxious and scared he might die at any moment, or we could celebrate each day we were blessed to have him with us. In the beginning, my daughter April celebrated Caleb’s birthday every week instead of every year with balloons and cupcakes because we simply did not know how long we would have him with us. We stopped the cupcakes after we gained ten pounds, but the celebrating goes on.

We all prayed for a miracle when we first learned about Caleb’s condition. We got one. Caleb’s birth, life and mission have had a deep and lasting impact on our lives. His spirit, eternal identity and most of all the loving, individual relationship he has with each of us is truly a miracle. Because of Caleb we know that each of us has a divine purpose and that the physical body is a sacred gift we should never take for granted. We better understand the worth of a soul and the resiliency of the human spirit.

Caleb’s five year old brother Matthew said, “Grandma. The doctors said Caleb was going to die, but he didn’t. That’s the first miracle I ever saw!”

Sometimes Caleb’s baby brother Mitchell pulls out his feeding tube while they hold hands riding together in their double stroller. Sometimes the only intervention that can get Caleb’s heart rate up is when his older brothers Josh and Matty crawl in his crib, hug him and sing, “I am a Child of God.” ...If you have a moment please offer a prayer for the little boy who has never been able to utter a single word and yet has taught everyone who knows and loves him – all the secrets of a rich and meaningful life.