Rowan's Story: "I know all about faith Mommy!"

Monday, March 18, 2013

"I know all about faith Mommy!"

A good friend of ours contacted me about a week ago, and asked for a favor. She was preparing to give a talk about faith at an upcoming retreat and kept thinking about Rowan. She asked me to have him define faith in his own words. This weekend I asked Rowan, and had an incredible conversation with him. I'm pretty sure I won't be the only one blown away by his response and his unbelievably mature grasp on the concept of faith. As an adult, I don't think I could have explained it better than he does:

"Rowan, can you help me explain faith?"

"Sure, I know all about faith Mommy!"

"Ok, what is faith?"

"Well, faith is believing God and believing IN God...but no matter what, because God makes good things happen, and bad things happen AND even just ok things happen too."

"Why do you think he lets bad things happen?"

"If he didn't ever let bad things happen, then we would never try to help each other, and there would be no compassion in the world."

"Ok, is it hard to have faith?"

"Is it hard to have faith? NO! It's actually harder NOT to have faith."

"Why do you say that?"

"Think about it Mom, if I didn't have faith, my life would just be sad and miserable!"

"And it's not, right?"

"Not at all. I have faith in God so I know it's all part of his plan, even the bad, and that's easy to understand."

Wow, just wow! I am blessed and blown away that my six year old son can explain things so well. More importantly, I am so proud that despite all the pain and suffering he has endured in his short life, he still has faith like no one I've ever met before. Wish we all could see things as clearly as he does, trust like he does, have faith like he does.

2 comments:

Lorraine, AKA Forever BlessedMarch 22, 2013 at 8:09 AM
Rowan is not just a blessing to your family, but to the entire world. God created a mighty special boy when He knit Rowan in your womb. Thank you for sharing him with us! God bless you, precious Rowan!
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Paula StifflemireMarch 24, 2013 at 7:11 AM
WOW! Is right He IS OF God!!!! His purpose is obvious most of us live our entire life without understanding our purpose. I can get more inspiration reading 5 minutes of Rowan's words than 1 hour in church This blog is a good a great start but His word needs to reach further there is so much turmoil in today's life this innocent faith could help many Possibly in books or tv?? I don't know exactly how but he certainly has a gift to share always in my prayers little angel
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In Memory of Rowan's 11th Birthday

http://a.co/4bNkv62

*Click the link above to purchase a gift in memory of Rowan's 11th birthday.*

In memory of Rowan's 11th birthday, July 21, we are hosting a virtual birthday party to benefit Methodist Children's Hospital (MCH) in San Antonio, where Rowan spent much of his childhood battling for his life. All gifts purchased through this registry will be delivered in person to MCH on Rowan's birthday, July 21, 2017. The toys will be donated to the Child Life Department at MCH and placed in the new play rooms at MCH for many pediatric patients to enjoy during their hospitalizations. The toys on this registry represent a few of Rowan's favorite things. We all know Rowan had such a huge heart for giving and making the good, so this party in his memory is a way of carrying out his legacy by celebrating and doing the things that mattered most to him. Thank you for being a part of carrying out Rowan's legacy, making the good, and honoring Rowan's powerful life while remembering his 11th birthday on July 21, 2017.

In ICU, post vp shunt surgery...precious angel.

In October of 2010, Rowan started having severe headaches again. He had two spinal taps, just three days apart due to increased cranial pressures (double or triple what they should be). They removed over 55 ccs of excess spinal fluid trying to relieve his headaches. Eventually, when the pain was just too severe and his pressures weren't coming down, he finally had to have a vp shunt placed. When he woke up the next day, he told one of the doctors that he would give him a free autograph for helping get rid of his headaches. A couple days later, he made a sign for me to put in the window of his hospital room, that he says said "Open for business. Autographs $15. Free drink with purchase".

Another battle wound...this one from his Chiari malformation brain surgery.

In January of 2009, Rowan had craniectomy/laminectomy surgery to correct a brain malformation that was obstructing his flow of spinal fluid and causing headaches and other neurological symptoms. They removed a small piece of the base of his skull, shrunk up the bottom portion of his brain, and removed part of his C1 and C2 vertebrae to free up space for the spinal fluid to flow. When we told Rowan that he would be going in to the hospital to get his brain fixed, he thought for a minute and then said, "Will I see Logan (favorite nurse) and can I eat baby ice cubes when I wake up?" When we said yes, he simply said "Ok, Let's do it!"

"Our Little Trooper"

Monday, March 18, 2013

"I know all about faith Mommy!"

2 comments: