Thoughts and perspective from Joy

Many of you often ask how our children are doing and processing everything. I was encouraged by a recent conversation with my daughter Joy as we reflected on the past several months, and I asked her if she’d be willing to share some of her thoughts on my blog:

I think that this time has really given our family a new sense of perspective in just the meaning and beauty in living every day. As you all probably know, my dad was scheduled to have his bone marrow transplant in March around the time that this crazy quarantine situation began. Looking back on that, we have come to realize how incredibly unprepared we were for the challenges of the transplant and recovery. The three of us kids were in the thick of the school year living insanely busy lives. With all the music lessons, hours of work, and sports practices each week, we all kind of just passed by one another although we lived in the same household. At that point, I don’t think we could say that any of us were really close at all. We practically just lived in coexistence, traveling in parallel lines to one another all the time. But looking back, we were so naive to what the transplant would mean for our family, and it would have definitely been a huge shock and a struggle for us once the hardships hit. 

But I feel like all of that has changed now. COVID-19 hit us all out of the blue in March and threw us unexpectedly into this whole new world. Obviously there were and still are many struggles and hardships that have come with that, but, for our family at least, we have come to see the silver lining. With everyone stuck in the house, we spend actual quality time together. Life no longer feels rushed and stressful all the time, and we are finally able to just relax when we need it. We have been able to go on two weekend trips which has been amazing for our family’s connection. Even though it has been some of the hardest months of our lives, we have seen how strong my dad is and that he is going to fight until this leukemia is beaten, Our family has been provided the time to bond and get closer emotionally than we have probably ever been, and we will need that in the coming months for sure. 

And as this is a time when fear and uncertainty are ramping up, God has been an extremely present force in all of our lives. When we see how unbelievably broken and corrupt this world is and how that is being showcased now especially, we are able to recognize our need for him. We are forced to abandon our own prideful efforts and depend wholly on Jesus Christ. And as we go into this next battle, which is honestly going to be a tough one for us all, we feel equipped and prepared through the one who we know will stick with us through everything. He has been faithful in every way from each of our many personally dark moments to the incredible network of support that we are so lucky to have behind us. I don’t know how we would get through this without God and you guys, so thank you. 

Lastly, just wanted to let you all know how much we appreciate you all thinking of and praying for us. We are so fortunate to have all of the support and love behind us as we face this next phase as a team. I hope that you are all staying safe and please let us know if there is anything that we can pray for! 

We so appreciate your loving care and continued prayers for Joy, Chloe, and Christian throughout this journey! And we’re very grateful to God as He has shown grace on our family in drawing us closer in love and unity esp. throughout these past several months.