"The Thanksgiving Ryan Was in the Hospital"

as I'm sure this year will be come to be known has caused me to be humbled by strangers & friends alike.

It all started because of a boy named Ryan. A boy with a lot of problems - mostly through no fault of his own. I wrote about Ryan on Monday and as I sit here on Thanksgiving night, just 3 days later, I am humbled by the many people who have taken the time to care. The time to send a card. The time to tell others. Most importantly -- the time to pray for him

I saw a comment on my blog the other day from someone I had never heard of before. When I went to her blog, The Mind of a Mom, to thank her for praying for Ryan I found a post about Ryan -- and in it, she was asking her readers to send a card to Ryan.

It was the same with Barbara, someone else I had never heard of. Peggy, Mandy, Tonya and Stephanie also requested prayers and cards for Ryan. I told Ryan about this today and his eyes just lit up like a Christmas tree. He was even more in awe when I told him all of these people were praying for him to get better.

But when I told him that while HE was asleep, people on the other side of the world in Hong Kong and China were praying for him, he smiled great big and said, "Awesome." At that response, I saw Bill wipe a little something out of the corner of his eye.

As we sat around last night the phone rang and it was Sherie, asking if I was home. She showed up a few minutes later with a huge envelope filled with cards from her junior high classes. There were some really cool cards too - like pop up cards that have Ryan fishing in a boat. There were also several huge paper airplanes....and some power point cards for Ryan to see on the computer when he gets home.

All of this has caused me to be thankful in ways that I've never felt before on any Thanksgiving. God has sent a visible reminder that through anything and everything - He is there -- in this case the voices of His people have been a blessing indeed. Again, I humbly thank you and thank God for you.

Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10
Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.