Chrissy Lookabaugh
Mark 10:13-16
13 And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. 15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. 16 And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.
One of the most vivid memories of Camden’s cancer journey was a movie war. Camden still laughs about this today when Josh gets too into sport mode. Something as simple as a movie became a lasting memory for all three of us. Children’s Hospital allows patients to pick from movies that they have on demand to play in their rooms. Camden was obsessed with Toy Story 3. It could be any given time of day or night, and if he looked up he wanted to have Toy Story 3 on the tv. I think I watched it hundreds if not a thousand times. It didn’t bother me because I wasn’t worried at all about the tv, but for Josh it was a war.
When Camden would take a nap or fall asleep for the night, Josh would switch it immediately to ESPN and like clockwork Camden would sense it was changed and wake up and say, "Toy Story!" I am sure this is an example that parents can relate to, cancer or no cancer, but the part that really still gets me today is the song that played in the movie. “You got a friend in me.” We were “miles and miles from our nice warm beds” but we had each other. That song makes me cry at how deep it is. Of course we wanted to be home and in all of our comforts, but it ultimately didn’t matter because we learned that we have what really matters, comfort or not, and it is “if you’ve got troubles, I’ve got ’em too. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you. We stick together and can see it through. You’ve got a friend in me.”
A simple children’s movie song is so powerful and true. The Lord gave us people to love. It didn’t matter that we were in a tiny hospital room; we had more than what we needed. We had His love and each other.
Throughout the years, we have caught ourselves saying things like, "We need a bigger…", "We need more…", "Well they have…", but it isn’t long until we come back to those memories and the Lord puts our mind straight. We’ve got the best Friend in Jesus and He provides more than we ever need. A little hospital room or a big mansion, it is all the same as long as you have those you need.
Josh may have lost countless battles with the tv saga, but in the end the lessons we learned in that tiny room far outweigh the plays and scores he missed. The Lord showed us that like little children, our needs are simple: we need to be loved and cared for, and that is what He does.