Newspaper Realization

As I was going to the cafeteria this afternoon for the one meal I thought to engage in for myself. I noticed the newspaper stand. I have only walked this path more than 100 times but I had never noticed the stands holding the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News. As I caught a glimpse of the newsprint the realization hit me.........I haven't read a newspaper since before Thanksgiving, looking at the ads for black Friday doesn't count.

As my children can attest I am a bit of a newspaper junkie. I don't know why I care. Most of what is written is propaganda anyway and the stories are twisted to show the bias of the writer. Even knowing that ahead of time I read every word.

As I was contemplating this situation it occurred to me that sometimes we focus on the least important things in life because they are easier to tackle than the critical things. This journey with Maddi has really brought home what really matters. A simple four letter word, LOVE.

It is about family and those that are family without the blood to bind them to us. It is amazing how quickly those connections come into focus when something like this happens. It is easy during the every day to let those relationships drift out of distance, difficulty, lack of time or energy or just out of difference of opinion. I feel deep gratitude for the large circle of support that has been around us. An experience like this defines those relationships in such a clear way.

It is about the sweet interactions between people that have no reason to care about each other. We have been witness to "Stranger Love" through out the world and here at Primary Children's Hospital. We printed a report of where people are that log on to this blog. We have people on every continent except Antarctica praying for us or at least interested in our story. We have been blessed with a great miracle in Maddi's recovery but also we have been witnesses to the goodness of people everywhere regardless of religion, geography, philosophy and status.

Here at Primary Children's Hospital people are thrown in together from different walks of life and from contrasting points of view. Somehow in the "thick" of things those other people's outcomes become as important as my own. There is a kindred desire to uplift and help share the burden of heartaches, struggles and joys. I am so grateful for those that helped carry us. I feel privileged to return those blessings for others. I think that is what the Master meant when he asked us to carry one an others burdens and mourn with those who mourn.

We have watched many people go home while we have been here. I cannot explain how excited I get when someone else gets their discharge date. Some of those people we haven't even spoken to but others we have become connected for life. There are also those times that I have been able to shoulder part of the heartache connected with this place as well. While at other times someone else has carried part of my burden until I was strong enough to pick it up again. It is impossible to share how these events have changed me.

The one constant in the lives of every human on the planet is the need to be loved and to have some one to love. The one big message that has emerged from Maddi's "still" time is LOVE. She describes what it feels like on the other side as love and home. She describes being with Jesus as feeling so very loved. Every word spoken to her by family members who, long ago found rest in that beautiful place, was about how loved she is and how she can help others feel hope.

If love is the main ingredient, wouldn't it be an amazing thing if we could create that feeling each time we talk to someone. To make sure that when they part from us they are convinced of their ability to BE loved.

So headlines are so impersonal. They don't tell the real stories. Stories happen between hearts. The better part is always about how to love more and completely!