He slept. His cheeks were as red as Washington apples in August. There had not been much movement, only quiet sleep. During the night he spiked a fever and we headed to St. Jude. When we arrived, we realized he was down to 113 pounds. Yet the doctors still did not know what was causing this sudden fever. Cancer.

Fast forward to March/April 2020. You are sitting in a room with a St. Jude child, their family, and the child is dying. The doctor is there, nurse practitioner, and the mother is falling apart. If you are the nurse practitioner, what do you do? This mother, just like Mary, is watching her child die before her eyes. It was not her choice nor did she cause it. The room is spinning and she doesn’t know what to do except cry in pain for her child. The nurse practitioner, breaking all rules of social distancing, finally grabs the mother and holds her while she cries. She said that the mother dissolved into the human touch and love she offered. Yet she still wore her gloves and gown….Think about the children at St. Jude during this time not being able to see their parents during treatments. Not this mother.

Purell. Purify. Purity. Pure.

Purell is an advanced instant hand sanitizer that kills more than 99.99% of most common germs. It is an alcohol-based hand sanitizer and works in as little as 15 seconds! That’s better than Mr. Clean! But as you continue to break down the word, do you know that there is a purity test you can take to see how pure you are according to today’s worldliness? Well that’s important! Not. Pure. I also think of Pure Cane Sugar. Heaven. No contamination.

I have honed in on James 4:8 and what the bible says about purifying ourselves.

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

As with most of the world, my mind has been whirling as we have been experiencing something we will probably never experience again in our lifetime. The Corona virus has infiltrated homes and disrupted lives to the point of loss, despair, and anxiety. This last week, I heard a commercial on the television while I was in the kitchen. I do not remember if it was the news talking about the Nashville St. Jude Run or the St. Jude Home, but I immediately slammed my fists on the granite countertop and said,

“I’m tired of hearing about St. Jude!” Jay was shocked.

I should be yelling about the Plexaderm commercial. (Ya’ll, that has got to go!) But it was just one of those days that I finally let my feelings go that I normally do not express. Pain. Have you been pushed to the edge lately? I am so thankful for the mercy and grace of our Lord always.  We should be using this time to study His word to strengthen our faith.

The common thing I am hearing from people is they want to experience more intentional relationships with each other, show love and gratitude (whether physical or not) when we step out of what seems to be a large bubble. For most of us, it will be very hard. Hard for those of us that are not normally people that step out and hug. But one thing I heard that struck me – compassion is not a sign of weakness. What about sympathy or empathy?

We eventually were able to get Trey’s fever down 8 years ago this week. And he started packing for Hawaii. Whether it’s Covid or Cancer – hug your loved ones with a pure mind and a pure heart.

“What I am eager for is that all the Christians there will be filled with love that comes from pure hearts, and that their minds will be clean and their faith strong.”

1 Timothy 1:5