To Protect...

No crafty post today.  I think when we all have children we want nothing more than to protect them from the tough realities of life.  I wrote in a post last week about Ryan's classmate Jake having cancer.  Over the last few days, I've asked Ryan several times if he has any questions about Jake.  I don't have answers...all I know is that I want to be honest with Ryan.  Tonight when I was talking with Ryan, I asked him if he had any questions.  He responded, "Mom, I know it's bad.  Knowing it is bad is enough.  Why would I want to know if it is badder than I think?"  How do you respond to that?  I said, "Ryan, I don't know how bad it is.  What we can do is keep praying for Jake to heal."  "Mom, I know how cancer works.   When it first starts the person seems okay...then like Mr. Vogt it gets worse.  He sat in his house a lot in that room and watched tv because he just couldn't do as much."  Mr. Vogt was our dear next door neighbor that Ryan has known since the day he was born.  Our conversation stopped for about 15 minutes when he and Jonathon were getting ready for bed.  He came back into my room about 15 minutes later.  "Mom, I know something is going on because you keep changing the subject and telling me that you love me.  I know how much you love me.  Are they going to do dinners and stuff for Jake's family?"  Me..."Ryan, I haven't heard yet, but if we do, I'm sure we'll do whatever we can to help."  Ryan..."Jake is like the nicest kid in 6th grade.  His immune system beat cancer when he was little so it will beat it again."  Oh how I wish I could wrap Jake in my arms and pray for his healing and oh how I wish I could protect my children from these tough discussions.   I believe in prayer and honesty.  I will do my best to teach Ryan how to be a good friend to Jake as he fights cancer.  I have encouraged Ryan to write cards to Jake telling him about funny things happening at school with get well wishes too.   We'll keep praying.  If you are on Facebook and read my blog, I encourage you to become a fan of Jake's prayer page.  May you and your family continue to be watched over.