The Ripple Effect

While traveling from the back side of one mountain to another, the conversation was as follows:

LS: Mom, I need to tell you something (as if she was going to break news to me that wasn't already aware of).

Mom: Okay (expecting to hear how frustrated she was that I didn't let her eat candy for breakfast).

LS. Papa said the reason we pray for Mike and Stacy and the baby's so much is because the baby boy is sick.

Mom: (silent and nervous what else she learned from her Papa)

LS. You see, he only has two parts to his heart and me and Finn have four. A really nice, really smart doctor is going to have to cut his chest open with scissors and fix it (while motioning with her hands the way she cuts construction paper.

It won't hurt him, mom...Because the doctors will give him medicine to make him sleep really deep. really, really deep.

That's why we pray so much and so hard. Did you know that?

Mom: (Speechless and sobbing) Yes.

LS: Why is he sick, mom?

Mom: I don't know, Lil.' You can pray we figure that out, too.

Only twelve hours before, I noticed Billy looking away from me as he came down the stairs from tucking the kids in. I called his name, he faced me, and I saw that he was crying. I think this conversation may have had something to do with it.