A Mother's Story...Part IV
Years later, after the completion of Greg’s treatments, we had a large party for him (December 2004). People sent and brought letters about how Greg’s fight and faith impacted their lives. After reading these letters (at least 100 or more of them) it was clear to us why Greg needed to endure the more than three years of suffering, despite the fact that he was healed from his cancer only nine days after his diagnoses. (After nine days of desperate prayer, beginning with the day of his diagnosis, our prayers were answered when we went to Sylvan Springs. It’s as though our prayers unknowingly, were a nine day novena.) These letters explained conversions of souls through Greg’s suffering and faith. People returned to church, to prayer, to Jesus. It was clear to us after all this time what the plan was, beginning the night in 1999 that Jesus and Mary appeared to me. The Blessed Mother simply used us to help build an army for her Son, Jesus. Yes our son had to suffer through more than 80 chemo treatments, 20 in his spine, in order to do her work. Somehow it is OK with us. Many days are still emotionally painful with memories and our humanly fear that we could be brought to this painful place again.
I continue to consecrate our family and our day to Mary and Jesus each morning. Just this past October I noticed the image of the Blessed Mother on our calendar and recognized it as the image I had seen in our bedroom. She is entitled Our Lady of Good Remedy and her feast day is October 8, the anniversary of the marriage of my husband and me.
Sylvan Springs and each of the reassuring messages along the way that The Blessed Mother sent will forever be in our memories….alongside the horrifying memories of our son’s suffering. The suffering that was for a common good. If nothing else, the Blessed Mother gave us an opportunity to teach a five year old child to unite his suffering to that of his Savior on Calvary.
Greg decided in 2005 to write a book for other children who are newly diagnosed with cancer to help them cope with and understand their disease. The book offers hope to these children. He titled his book God Healed The Little Boy. The process of publishing took until 2007. The website for the promotion and sale of his book was completed on September 27, 2007, the anniversary of his healing at Sylvan Springs. The email confirmation I received stated this exactly: “God Healed The Little Boy September 27.” Yet another confirmation that Greg was healed September 27 (2001).
The book was published on October 5, his birthday. Both Greg and his story, of fight and faith, continue. September 27 is also the feast day of St. Vincent de Paul (patron saint of our church) and of St.s Cosmos and Damian (patron saints of druggists and doctors). True representation of both the faith and the fight.
From a Mother’s perspective, embrace every moment presented to you that could strengthen your faith. It could be part of a plan God has to prepare you for something in your future. Embrace the fact that you have been given a divine privilege to raise the body and soul of any children the Lord has blessed you with.
Now, as Greg is 12 years old, I thank God for every chance I get to serve my husband and children while the opportunities are here. As mothers, we don’t know how long God is planning on leaving His children with us, to accomplish the task given to us at the moment of conception: to teach our children to know, love, and serve their Lord and Savior. Mother Mary is always there to guide us and is lovingly there to intercede for us and bring us to the work necessary for building the Kingdom of God. Our family is nothing special or out of the ordinary. We just had a job to do. We don’t know how or why it all started. We just know what we lived and the miracles we experienced. Do I wish we could have done this “job” without our son having to suffer? Yes. Did God “give” our son cancer so He could work through us to convert souls? Maybe. Did He “allow” the cancer for the same purpose? Maybe. Did Satan give our son cancer and the Blessed Mother interceded turning it into glorious resurrection of souls converted? Maybe……
www.GodHealedTheLittleBoy.com
Phone: (260) 482-2659
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