HAVING FAITH IN THIS FAITHLESS WORLD

I HAVE HEARD SO MANY PEOPLE SAY THAT THEIR LIVES ARE BAD. SO MANY PEOPLE HURTING AND IN NEED OF REASURRANCE. I WANTED TO SHARE A STORY OF A CHILD I MET WHILE VOLUNTEERING AT A CHILD'S CANCER HOSPITAL. THIS LITTLE ANGEL, NAMED SABIAN, WAS DIAGNOSED AS HAVING LEUKEMIA WHEN HE TURNED 5 YRS OLD. IT REQUIRED INFUSIONS AND BLODD TRANFUSIONS. SABIEN WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO HIS FIRST DAY AT KINDERGARTEN. HE TOOK HIS LITTLE BACKPACK TO THE HOSPITAL EVERYTIME HE WAS ADMITTED OR WHEN HE CAME IN FOR TREATMENTS. HE WOULD BRING A BOOK WITH HIM AND HAVE ME PAGED IN THE HOSPITAL SO I COULD READ IT TO HIM. WE WOULD PRETEND THAT I WAS THE TEACHER AND HE WAS THE STUDENT. HIS HOSPITAL VISITS BECAME MORE FREQUENTLY AND LONGER DUE TO A NEWLY FOUND BRAIN TUMOR THAT WAS PRESSING ON HIS OPTIC NERVE. WE READ THIS LITTLE BOOK CALLED, "THERE'S A MONSTER UNDER MY BED" EVERYDAY. I ASKED SABIEN IF HE EVER GOT TIRED OF THAT BOOK AND HE SAID NO. WE WOULD WORK ON THE ALPHABET, PRACTICE WRITING, AND COUNT WHEN HE WAS IN. WHEN HIS FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL ARRIVED, SABIEN WASN'T THERE. DUE TO COMPLICATIONS FROM THE BRAIN TUMOR/CHEMO, HE WAS IN THE HOSPITAL. HE TOLD HIS MOM THAT HE WASN'T MISSING CLASS CAUSE HIS TEACHER CAME TO HIM. THEN HE WOULD FIND ME. SURGERY WAS TOO RISKY AND HIS BODY GREW FRAGILE. BY NOW, SABIEN WAS READING BOOKS TO ME! I TOLD HIS MOM HOW FAST HE WAS LEARNING. SHE STARTED TO CRY AND INFORMED ME THAT SABIEN WAS ALMOST TOTALLY BLIND! HE HAS MEMORIZE THE LITTLE BOOKS WE READ TOGETHER! AS HE GREW WEAKER AND WEAKER HE STILL WANTED TO LEARN. I ASKED HIM ONE DAY IF HE WANTED TO SKIP CLASS CAUSE I KNOW HE DIN'T FEEL WELL. HE TOLD ME THAT HE DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO BE SICK. HE NEEDED TO LEARN ALL HE COULD CAUSE HE WAS GETTING READY TO LEAVE THE HOSPITAL. I DIDN'T QUITE UNDERSTAND HOW THIS SICK LITTLE CHILD COULD POSSIBLLY BE DISCHARGED. HE DID LEAVE THAT HOSPITAL 2 DAYS LATER. SABIEN WAS BURIED WITH THAT BACKPACK BESIDE HIS TINY LITTLE BODY. HE HAD FOUND THE MONSTER UNDER HIS BED AND HE HAD ACCOMPLISHED HIS GOALS LEARNING AND DOING WHAT HE WOULD HAVE BEEN WORKING ON IF HE WERE IN KINDERGARTEN.