Love multiplied.
This is Felix and Brady.
This is the moment that can happen when you give selflessly to a stranger in their time of need.
This. This is love being multiplied.
Multiplied into ways far greater than we could have ever imagined.
Last night, our families met for the first time outside of the life-changing interaction at the hospital a couple weeks ago.
You would have never known it though. It was as if our families have been life long friends.
The kids played and ate pizza while we got to share our story with the sweet and amazing Cierra Johnson from NBC4 in Columbus.
At one point in the interview, Cierra asked me, “Did you ever think that a stuffed animal could change someone’s life like it has?”
I’ve pondered that question all day as I have reflected what our family has been through the past 18 months and all that lies ahead.
Did we ever think a stuffed animal could change someone’s life?
No, not necessarily.
But what I do know is that when Brady was first diagnosed with cancer in June of 2021 we prayed that God would use it for the good. That this battle would be an opportunity to shine love and light however we could. That we could be messengers of hope to those who were hurting just like us.
We prayed for there to be a purpose for all of our pain.
And that is exactly what He has done.
He has given our family a purpose. A mission larger than anything we could have imagined.
He has called us to spread the message that no one has to battle alone.
And we are able to do it through our battle pups.
What started out as a way to make our countless trips to the hospital less miserable by finding strangers to bless, has rapidly evolved. God continues to bless this mission and allow us to be there in times of desperation when people are facing a battlefield before them.
I watched Felix with his smile that could light up the darkest of rooms.
How lucky are we?
How lucky are we that God has used our son’s cancer to bring our two families together?
If not for cancer, none of this would have happened.
So here we are. Us Martins. We are oddly grateful that we were chosen to carry out this journey. We are thankful that our family has been faced with such an enormous trial. Not only because we know that God will prevail where Brady is concerned, but also because through the depths of our sorrow the most glorious mission was birthed in our hearts.
Way to battle is every piece of our being.
It is helping people give those they love a tangible gift to let them know they don’t have to face their battle alone.
It is meeting those in hard places to know others are there beside them on their battlefield.
It is encouraging others in unexpected ways so they can feel the love of Jesus in a brand new way.
It is cultivating hearts of compassion that are eager to help those who are hurting.
It is love. Multiplied.
No one has to battle alone.
Not Felix.
Not Brady.
No one.
Tonight, we continue our period of patience and waiting. The only results we have thus far show an unfavorable outcome of Brady’s initial peripheral blood, but we still don’t have any results from his biopsy. So we wait. We refresh his myChart every hour. We keep our phone ringer on high waiting for a call. We pray. We watch the hours tick by. We pack more battle pups. And we wait some more.
Beauty has come from our brokenness.
Our mission was born through our misery.
Everything. Everything has a purpose.
Shields up.
Swords out.
Armed with strength for the battle,
Kristin
“Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
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