Losing Samantha; Gaining Compassion

So many were mailing in donations and cards with words of encouragement. My dad works with an extremely wealthy gentleman who said to him one day, "Jimmy, if there is any bill that comes in you cannot pay, or any expenses you need taken care of, come to me and I will personally see to it that it gets taken care of." I knew there was no possible way we could go without something we needed. Too many charitable people were concerned for us. God was on our side also.
             Samantha was being treated at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. She was in the hands of the most excellent cancer doctors in the whole world. If there was something that could be done for her, they were the team who could accomplish it. In spite of having the finest doctors, there were still other issues that came about. Holidays were celebrated with 30 other families at the Ronald McDonald House, where Samantha and her mother, Gayle, were staying. When Thanksgiving came around, I predicted the holiday was going to be so gloomy. I was so used to spending them at home with my family, not with unfamiliar people. My grandparents came to eat with us that day and cooked a nice meal for us so we would feel like we were more at home. Samantha was strong enough that day so she ate with us too. Regardless of the good time we had together during Thanksgiving, I had the same substandard feelings about Christmas. My grandparents and Samantha's grandparents were the only ones who were planning on joining us that day to celebrate. I predicted this would be the most miserable Christmas we ever had because we were not all together at home for the holiday. Then a phone call came through and it was Gayle's sister telling us they and many other aunts, uncles and cousins were on their way to Houston to spend Christmas Day with us. Once again, God sent loving individuals making sacrifices in their daily lives to keep me and my family in high spirits.