Wink from Heaven: A Super Hero Miracle

Sunday, December 23, 2012

A Super Hero Miracle

My little Mitchell loves super heroes and recently had a super hero birthday.

The other day I walked into Mitchell's room and found him on his knees. He looked at me with wonder in his eyes and quietly said "I just had a miracle." He explained he couldn't find one of his super heroes and so he prayed that Heavenly Father would help him find it. When he opened his eyes he immediately found it. I walked in just as he realized his prayer had been answered.

Seeing Mitchell pray was especially touching to me because Mitchell recently asked me "Why do Heavenly Father and Jesus choose families to do mean things to?" When I asked him what he meant he said "Why did Heavenly Father choose to have Caleb die? If he loves us, then why would he want to make us sad?" I explained that Heavenly Father doesn't necessarily make sad things happen, but He promises to always be there to help us, comfort us, and give us strength when they do. Mitchell believes in miracles. He knows Heavenly Father can do anything, so it's been hard for him to understand why sometimes God allows sad things to happen. He said, "Sometimes I don't feel like praying because I don't feel very happy with Him."

Mitchell's little heart has had to deal with great big feelings this year... He's really been missing Caleb. I'm so thankful for those moments when Heavenly Father shows Mitchell that He knows him and that He will always be there to help him... even when he needs help finding a super hero.

3 comments:

Lisa said...: Such a touching post. Mitchell is developing a deep a personal relationship with his Savior; December 24, 2012 at 7:18 AM
The Johnson Crew said...: Thanks for sharing Mitchell's miracle. We can all learn so much from the faith of a child! It is tough to have to understand life at such a young age!!

Merry Christmas. I just caught up on your recent posts and love them very much.

Lots of love
Gayle; December 25, 2012 at 5:08 PM
Emily said...: Wow, I loved this. Thanks for sharing. Give Mitchie a squeeze for me. Love that kid!; December 28, 2012 at 2:55 PM

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.