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| photo by Jean Ann Williams |
Right after
Joshua neared the end of his first semester of college, we sat together one
evening watching a funny movie.
His shoulders
shook in what I thought was laughter. I looked into his face and gasped. “Son,
what is it?” My nineteen-year-old’s face distorted with his sobs. I touched his
knee. “Please, tell me.”
Catching his
breath, he said, “Something’s wrong with me, Mom.”
I grabbed his
clammy hand and held it. “What do you mean? Are you sick?”
“Last week, I was
driving from the school, and the last thing I remember was stopping for a red
light. Then, I was miles down the road, and I don’t remember getting there.”
His weeping escalated.
I wrapped my arm
around his shoulders. “Shh, shh,” I whispered while my insides trembled in fear
for him.
He wiped his face
with an arm. “That’s not all. I’m blanking out in class too. I sit down, and
before I know it, class is over and I don’t remember anything.”
A knot of fear
clenched my stomach. Joshua’s in trouble. I’d heard of this happening to people
when they were in extreme stress. We talked for a while, neither one of us
willing to leave the other. Then I said, “Son, we’ll talk to your dad tomorrow
and tell him what’s going on. Okay?”
Joshua nodded and
heaved a sigh. Having turned off the TV long ago, I asked, “Why don’t you get
some sleep now?”
The next morning
we told Joshua’s dad the problem. He suggested that Jami, Joshua, and I go to a
cabin in the mountains for a few days. The fresh air and calm of the woods
helped Joshua to rest, but he was also too quiet.
Within a few
weeks after our return home, Joshua dropped out of college. This began for him
the long road of uncertainty and sorrow.
Dear Lord, as a family we were concerned for
our son and brother. We couldn’t imagine how he must have suffered, but we
walked that path with him as much as he would allow. In Jesus’s holy name.
Amen.
Reader Journal
~Your Mother Memories~
~Your Prayer of Praise~
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