Poetry and Stories  

 

Inspiration:  You Are My Sunshine (Seriously, get some tissue first!) Like any good mother, when Karen found out that another baby was on the  way, she did what she could to help her three-year-old son, Michael, prepare for a new sibling. They found out that the new baby was going to be a girl, and day after day, night after night, Michael sang to his sister in Mommy's tummy.  He was building a bond of love with his little sister before he even met her.  The pregnancy progressed normally for Karen, an active member of the Panther Creek United Methodist Church in Morristown, Tennessee. In time, the labor pains came.  Soon it was every five minutes, every three, then every minute.  But serious complications arose during delivery and Karen found herself in hours of labor.  Would a C-section be required? Finally, after a long struggle, Michael's little sister was born.  But, she was in very serious condition.  With a siren howling in the night, the ambulance rushed the infant to the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Mary's Hospital in Knoxville, Tennessee.  The days inched by. The little girl got worse.  The pediatrician had to tell her parents, "There is very little hope.  Be prepared for the worst."  Karen and her husband contacted a local cemetery about a burial plot.  They had fixed up a special room in their house for their new baby but now they found themselves having to plan for a funeral.  Michael, however, kept begging his parents to let him see his sister.  "I want to sing to her," he kept saying. Week two in intensive care looked as if a funeral would come before the week was over.  Michael kept nagging about singing to his sister, but kids are never allowed in Intensive Care.  Karen made up her mind, though.  She would take Michael whether they liked it or not!  If he didn't see his sister right then, he may never see her alive.  She dressed him in an oversized  scrub suit and marched him into ICU. He looked like a walking laundry basket.  But the head nurse recognized him as a child and bellowed, "Get that kid out of here now!  No children are allowed."  The mother rose up  strong in Karen, and the usually mild-mannered lady glared steel-eyed right into the head nurse's face, her lips a firm line.  "He is not leaving until he sings to his sister!"  Karen towed Michael to his sister's bedside. He gazed at the tiny infant losing the battle to live.  After a moment, he began to sing.  In the pure-hearted voice of a three-year-old, Michael sang: "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray..." Instantly the baby girl seemed to respond.  The pulse rate began to calm down and become steady.  "Keep on singing, Michael," encouraged Karen with tears in her eyes. "You never know, Dear, how much I love you.  Please don't take my sunshine away."  As Michael sang to his sister, the baby's ragged, strained breathing became as smooth as a kitten's purr. "Keep on singing, Sweetheart!" "The other night, Dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in my arms..."  Michael's little sister began to relax as rest - healing rest - seemed to sweep over her. "Keep on singing, Michael."  Tears had now conquered the face of the bossy head nurse.  Karen glowed. "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.  Please don't, take my sunshine away..." The next day - the very next day - the little girl was well enough to go home! Woman's Day Magazine called it "The Miracle of a Brother's Song". The medical staff just called it a miracle.  Karen called it a miracle of God's love! - Unknown (I told you to get tissue!)

WHEN GOD MADE MOMS By the time the Lord made mothers, he was into his sixth day of working overtime.  An Angel appeared and said, "Why are you spending so much time on this one?" And the Lord answered and said, "Have you seen the spec sheet on her?  She has to be completely washable, but not plastic, have 200 movable parts, all replaceable, run on black coffee and have a lap that can hold three children at one time and that disappears when she stands up, have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart, and have six pairs of hands." The Angel was astounded at the requirements for this one. "Six pairs of hands! No Way!", said the Angel. The Lord replied, "Oh, it's not the hands that are the problem.  It's the three pairs of eyes that mothers must have!" "And that's just on the standard model?", the Angel asked. The Lord nodded in agreement, "Yes, one pair of eyes are to see through the closed door as she asks her children what they are doing, even though she already knows.  Another pair in the back of her head are to see what she needs to know even though no one thinks she can. And the third pair are here in the front of her head. They are for looking at an errant child and saying that she understands and loves him or her without even saying a  single word." The Angel tried to stop the Lord.  "This is too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish." "But I can't!", the Lord protested, "I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart. She already heals herself when she is sick AND can feed a family of six on a pound of hamburger and can get a nine year old to stand in the shower!" The Angel moved closer and touched the woman. "But you have made her so soft, Lord." "She is soft", the Lord agreed, "but I have also made her tough.  You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish." "Will she be able to think?", asked the Angel. The Lord replied, "Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to reason, and negotiate." The Angel then noticed something and reached out and touched the woman's cheek.  "Oops, it looks like you have a leak with this model. I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one." "That's not a leak", the Lord objected, "That's a tear!" "What's the tear for?",  the Angel asked. The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her disappointment, her pain, her loneliness, her grief, and her pride." The Angel was impressed.  "You are a genius, Lord.  You thought of everything. Mothers are truly amazing!"