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Reverend Julia Messer |
Very rarely did we have roommates when we were impatient, thankfully. It can be such an inconvenience to share a room. I would spend most of my time waiting for our roommates to be discharged when we did have one. We had a constant flow of; minor infection kids, minor surgery kids, minor illness kids in general. Not to say these things aren’t difficult for the parents who must go through them, but to us they were a constant reminder that again our daughter wouldn’t suddenly recover, she wouldn’t just be discharged and be ok.
December 2011 changed everything for us. In the middle of the night we got a roommate. I rolled my eyes and wished again that we had a private room. The baby next door cried and cried that her leg hurt. Peyton awoke and asked me to give her, her books and crayons. She is a much more gracious human being than I could ever imagine being. I walked across the room to fulfill Peyton’s wish and looked into the eyes of a precious angel in pain, and her loving family and religious community who were all pulling for her to get better. Instantly my annoyance with having a roommate disappeared and what it was replaced with was admiration and acceptance that though our fights were different we were all fighting for our babies.
The next two weeks were spent with not only their family, but ours being surrounded with love by that same community. It took very little time for us to become acquainted and feel as though we were truly cared for. It was an amazing feeling, one of those true in the right place at the right time situations.
A few weeks after we were both discharged our fast friends had invited us to their Church, the same Church family who had been praying for our daughter for weeks without ever having met her. They had made prayer shawls for the girls, and wanted to present them to us. Honestly I was so humbled. I had never felt so much warmth before.
It was then that we really got to know Reverend Julia Messer. She made it so very clear that she was there for us now and whenever we may need her. We barely knew her, but she already loved our girl and made it very clear that she would be there until the bitter end.
Not a day goes by when I don’t feel her prayerful presence in our life. She has been angry for us, she has been happy for us, she has grieved with us, and most importantly she has been there physically to support and walk us through this journey.
Not only has she been there for me as a friend, but she has been there consistently for our sweet girl to visit her while she is not well. She has been able to undoubtedly always put a smile on her sweet face, and for that I will be forever grateful. She also makes sure that our other little ones feel loved and cared for and always seems to be there right when we need her. She is my true definition of a hero. She has given herself completely without any expectation of reciprocation. She is truly one of God’s people and we are beyond blessed to have her in our life. Thank you Reverend Julia for being our hero, thank you for helping us rediscover our compass.
Kate Sytsma is mom of four, two of which battle mitochondrial disease. Kate is a strong advocate for families of children with mitochondrial disease. She is the owner of Caelum's Cannula Caps, founder of Peyton's Promise of Hope, and Marketing & Publications Coordinator for Mommies of Miracles.