Wink from Heaven: April 2013

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

A Wink from Bryce Canyon!

For Spring break we took a little family trip to Bryce Canyon... see if you can figure out which pictures have a "wink" in it!

I don't know how much closer to heaven you can get than 9115 feet!

Monday, April 1, 2013

Wherever You Are, My Love Will Find You

I gave this story to Caleb for his last Christmas and just love these sweet words...

Wherever You Are, My Love Will Find You...

by Nancy Tillman

I wanted you more than you will ever know

so I sent love to follow wherever you go.

It's high as you wish it. It's quick as an elf.

You'll never outgrow it... it stretches itself!

So climb any mountain...climb up to the sky!

My love will find you. My love can fly!

Make a big splash! Go out on a limb!

My love will find you. My love can swim!

It never gets lost, never fades, never ends...

If you're working...Or playing...or sitting with friends.

You can dance till your dizzy...paint till you're blue.

There's no place, not one, that my love can't find you.

And if someday you're lonely, or someday your sad,

or if you strike out at baseball, or think you've been bad...

just lift up your face, feel the wind in your hair.

That's me, my sweet baby, my love is right there.

In the green of the grass...in the smell of the sea...

In the clouds floating by...at the top of a tree...

In the sound the crickets make at the end of the day...

"You are loved. You are loved. You are loved." they all say.

My love is so high and so wide and so deep,

It's always right there even when you're asleep.

So hold your head high and don't be afraid

to march to the front of your own parade.

If you're still my small babe or you're all the way grown,

My promise to you is you're never alone.

You're my angel,

my darling

my star

and my love will find you,

wherever you are.

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.