Today was Noah's birthday. The last month of his life he has had to deal with the fact that his sister has a very aggressive form of brain cancer that threatens her life. It is more than a 12 year should have to shoulder. But, he is no ordinary 12 year old. He is a Hunter. He has known from the first day of his life that life is not easy, fair, or taken for granted. He knows that we do not whine or complain. He also knows that his mom and dad are readily available for conversation at any point of every day.
I am proud of him. He is by all accounts a normal 12 year old. He loves sports and he loves his friends and family. He also lives under special circumstances now. This year will not be like all of the previous years. He will be an adult by the time it is over. He is dealing with issues that are tough for any adult to deal with. We will spend a lot of this year talking about God and the role He plays in our lives. Pray for Noah this year as you pray for Ava. He is along for this rough journey just as we are. He loves his sister. He trusts God. It won't be a normal 12 year old year.
I love my son just like I love my daughter. Pray Lisa and I will know exactly what he needs and provide it just when he needs it.
I am so proud of him. He continues to press onward just as he needs to. My prayer is that God heals Ava this year (if He hasn't already). It will make Noah's life better just as it will ours. Thanks be to God for 12 years with our son. We pray that He will be blessed in our circumstance.
Thanks to all of you who are praying. Don't stop. We need all of it.
Happy birthday, Noah. You are exactly the son God wanted for us. May your 12th year be more wonderful than any of us can imagine right now. Your mom and I love you.
I started praying for your whole family when you asked us to pray for Ava, so Noah has always been included. Tonight though, he gets a little extra Jesus time from me. Happy birthday, Noah! You and your sister are loved by many people you will never have a chance to meet!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Noah!! I, too, have a Noah Hunter...although Hunter is his middle name and it was given by choice to honor your dad for the impact he has had on our family :) Every time I call my Noah Hunter by his full name, I can't help but stop and think of your Noah and all he is going through. I have been in his shoes (but at 20...then 26...not 12) and it is simply not fair. Tonight, I am praying specifically for Noah. May he have peace in his heart as he's forced to deal with a situation that no child should have to endure. He has an amazing family to support him and a God who loves him even more!
ReplyDeleteAlways praying...always believing...
I don't know you but I came across your blog through another one that was asking for prayers for Ava. We are praying that it will be God's will for Ava to be healed and will be praying for the rest of your family, especially your son, who just so happens to share a birthday with my son, Will, who turned 7 today. I see the love my son has for his younger twin sisters and there's nothing like it. I know that Noah must feel the same way toward Ava and that this must be taking a toll on him as well. Again, we will be praying.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, sweet Noah. You are a wonderful big brother.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Noah!!!!!Next year you will be a teenager! How exciting! I hope you day was Blessed and you had a GREAT day! And prayers are said for that sweet young boy as ALL the rest of your family!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to Noah!!!! :) And I know God will equip him to get thru Ava’s battle and be the big brother that she needs to help her beat this!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for recognizing your son's strength in this. My dad was diagnosed with cancer when I was 11, and that was the start of what defined much of who I am now. I have such a heart for the middle school kids-- They understand much, much more about the realities of the world than people give them credit for, even if they can't quite articulate that struggle. Your whole family is in my thoughts and prayers!
ReplyDeleteBetsy - (Summit Church)
I just want to say, as a sibling to a cancer patient myself, around Noah's age when my sister was diagnosed. It is hard. Sometimes people forget that while they are the ones that are sick, we are also the ones who are living with the pain of their illness everyday. I pray that you as a family and as a church community can continue to pray for Noah and the impact that this will have on his life forever. It seems to me that you a Lisa are amazing parents and you do realize his struggles, but I just wanted to say it, for all those people who never said it for me.
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