One thing I didn't mention in my "Ten Things About Hannah" post yesterday was that Hannah was a very private person. In fact, as we were walking to the car right after being told she had a brain tumor, she said that she didn't want anyone to know, and she wanted me to promise her that we wouldn't tell anybody. Of course, I did not make that promise, because we wanted people to be praying for her! Once we explained that to her, she understood, and was fine with me sending the emails which chronicled her journey. However, she did NOT want to have a CaringBridge site, and she did NOT want me to write a blog while she was sick. She always shunned the spotlight, even before she was diagnosed ... always content to remain in the background.
So it's always been a little strange to me that her story captured so much attention, and that it still does today. I started this blog about four months after she went to Heaven, fully confident that she would no longer mind me writing about her. And we have traveled around and shared her story in a variety of churches and other settings, and I know she would be fine with that. We had the opportunity to do that just yesterday, when we shared our testimony at Parker's Chapel First Baptist Church in El Dorado. We love to do that, and God always blesses when we do.
And it kind of hit me yesterday ... when Hannah was here on earth with us, she was "our daughter", meaning mine and Brad's. She "belonged" to us. Now, it's almost as if we are literally "sharing" her with the thousands of other people who have been touched by her story. Does that make sense?
As I ponder this thought, I can't help but think of our good friends, Larry and Janice Brown. Their son, Adam, was a member of SEAL Team Six, and was killed in Afghanistan in March of 2010. A book has been written about his life, ("Fearless"), and at last check, it was #7 on the New York Times Best Seller list. They've been traveling around doing interviews and book signings, and talking to people whose lives have been changed after reading Adam's story. The book reveals both the high points and the very low points of Adam's life. Talk about "sharing" your child ... they are now "sharing" their Adam with literally millions of other people.
I think I can speak for the Browns as well as for us when I say that we don't mind "sharing" our children. What better way to remember and to honor their lives than to allow others to see how God carried them through their respective journeys? To God be the glory.
2 comments:
The e-mails, chronicling Hannah's journey home were widely read among our faculty, as you know. When we got the e-mail saying she had moved to Heaven, we all felt like we knew her and there were quite a few tears shed. During that journey, I made occasional notes in the margin of my Bible, recording prayers for her, etc. At the time, I didn't see a lot (or really any) good in her having to move so far away at such a young age. But now I see a lot of good, although I still wish it had turned out otherwise. A whole ministry has been brought out of her illness and homegoing. And I see the same in the Brown family's story. The book is really a blessing and Adam's story was certainly unusual. I hope the book stays on the best seller list for a long time. It is an amazing read.
Amen! To God be the glory! I am one of many people who thank God for Hannah's story being shared. It helped me so much through my journey with childhood cancer. You will never know what an impact your words had and still have on me.
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