Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Ordinary Miracle




Today my oldest is sick, so we snuggled on the couch watching "Charlotte's Web." Truly, that is one of my favorite stories of all time. I love that it teaches, in such a simple way, the power of friendship in someone's life.
We got to participate in an Ordinary Miracle last night. One of the local high schools was having a fundraiser for one of their students (Adam) who has neurofibromatosis. They have spent the last week doing "Make a Wish Week" where each day they had some sort of activity or fundraiser to raise money for Adam's wish. It all culminated in last night's event, the Salem Gorge.
It's a little bit like Taste of Chicago. Each club in the school prepared some food (brownies, pizza, popcorn, hot dogs, etc.). Families like us bought a pass that allowed us to go from table to table sampling all the goodies. All the money raised went to Adam.
Let me tell you, there was a lot of money raised. The place was packed! Considering the size of the town, it was a miracle. I imagine at least half the population of Salem was there. And I bet almost every student at the school showed up, most wearing T shirts saying "We Love Adam." I overheard someone say that two separate people donate a thousand dollars each.
Wow. What a response. What a demonstration of love and support for this kid. The whole time I was there I was close to tears, thinking to myself how I would feel if I were Adam's mom. It would be devastating to know your child had an incurable disease, but watching your community (especially his peers) go to such great lengths for him..... What an incredible feeling.
And another thing. What a great group of kids those high schoolers are. To plan, organize, and carry out such an extravaganza. I was amazed, and grateful to see that in spite of the bad rap teenagers often get, there's a lot of good they can do too. It gave me hope for the future.
I was happy to share this event with my kids, to talk to them about how good it feels to serve someone else-- even if we don't know the person. If we know we have lifted another's burden in some small way, we know we are following the Savior. That's something I want them to understand.
What Ordinary Miracles have you witnessed lately?

1 comment:

  1. I love knowing about things like that!

    A miracle last night for our family was sitting on our table when I came downstairs. Justin and I have Bronchitis (spelling?) thank goodness our three children are healthy, but we were flat on our backs yesterday. My friend, that's pregnant with her fourth child, has a 18 month old with RSV, she's the primary president, and had a husband still at work brought us homemade soup and homemade bread for dinner.

    I really have so much love for people that are so unselfish. Just like you just shared. There is soooo much good in this world!!! It's what it is all about--we can all be part of miracles!

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