Our Little Princess

You may have wondered why I haven't blogged in a while. Hopey has a BIG appointment on Friday (January 14th) of this week, and over the last few weeks, our family has been taking time to celebrate life with her.

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On Friday, Hope will have her 6 month heart check-up and we expect to learn if the inoperable aneurysm in her heart is continuing to grow....and if it is changing, we hope to get an indication regarding it's rate of growth. Knowing this appointment was looming, and dreading it with every fiber of our beings, our family scooped up our ray of sunshine and decided the very best place for a princess to visit is Disney World (where all the real princesses on earth live). So began our two week journey of celebration in Florida.

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Everything at Disney went pretty much to plan until we entered Epcot. What was our plan you ask? To pretend of course. Afterall, Disney is a place of "magic" where "dreams come true".....a safe place to leave all worries behind and choose instead to engage imagination and wonder.

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From climbing on board the most famous flying elephant in the world to cozying up snugly in a boat to view magnificent singing dolls from all over the world.....from finding a perfect spot on the sidewalk to take in the afternoon parade to meeting up with Mickey Mouse for a big old hug and fist pumps....from eating junk food until we all felt sick as dogs to taking in the most beautiful fireworks display over a castle iced in colored lights with tinkerbell flying from the tip top along a zip line down...down...down toward a crowd of "oohs and aaahs". Simply Magical.

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Yep, our plan was going just fine until we met Linda:

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"How old are your two little ones?" she asked as she posed us in front of the massive silver ball whose extraordinary presence beckons guests to experience the wonder called Epcot.

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While pulling Charlie and Hope out of the double stroller for the hundredth time that day and adjusting them "just so" for the photo op I answered over my shoulder: "Hopey is 5 and our little Charlie-man is 2".

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Her next words caught me off-guard causing my cheek to involuntarily twitch along with the snap of the first photo: "They are both so adorable.....any health issues?" Any health issues??? The question I always dread.

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I put on my best face, took a deep breath and answered: "None for Charlie, thankfully. But (pause) as for Hopey (longer pause) she has had her share of struggles with her little heart." Somehow I managed to get the broken words out of my mouth without allowing the puddle of tears that had suddenly gathered in my eyes to find their way down my cheeks.

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The Hollis gang smiled for the next two shots and I walked over to Linda to grab our photo card while the rest of the bunch worked together to bundle the babes back into their strollers in the 50 degree windy chill.

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I was surprised when Linda looked directly into my eyes and purposefully took my hand in hers as I reached out to take the card from her: "One day, everything will be made right....everything will be perfect.....and I know you know what I am talking about."

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My puddle of tears became a gusher as I stood in front of that great big silver ball at Epcot, but ironically, I forgot about being in that "magical" place during those few moments with Linda. As I cried, she continued: "We will all see each other again some day, and on that day, Hope's heart will be completely healed."

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I shared more about Hopey with Linda and told her about Hope's appointment this week and asked her to pray. She said her late mother's birthday was January 14th, and assured me that will be an easy date for her to remember. Linda promised to pray for our little princess on Friday.

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As I walked away from our new friend toward all the "magic" Disney had to offer our family that evening, my heart lingered back with Linda. For some strange reason, I wanted to sit a bit longer with her and secretly wished the line of guests waiting for her to snap their photo had not appeared. In those few minutes of time in a land called Epcot, a stranger had taken the time to remind me of the place where all of our dreams really do come true.....a place of unfathomable magic....a place called heaven. Her parting words to me still ring in my ears: "Remember, everything will be made perfect, so there is no need to be afraid."

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"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away." Revelation 21:4

Thank you so very much for your prayers for Our Little Princess!