I just read a story about a boy who was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness when he was 12 years old. Obviously, he was scared and felt confused and, as he said, like there was a "blank canvas" in front of him. Rather than give up, he decided to empower others and, with the help of Make-A-Wish, he published a book ~ The Spider Who Never Gave Up.
Now, he's an adult and attributes much of his healing process to the success of his wish. This got me thinking about when I was trying to dream up the perfect wish. New clothes? A computer? A shopping sprees? I asked everyone who entered my hospital room what their wish would be. I called my cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles . . . I mean, you're given ONE wish. You have to make it a perfect wish.
They even talk about how perfect a wish has to be in the novel & movie; The Fault In Our Stars. Hazel and Augustus talk about the "genies" and the "wish granting factory" . . . and Augustus even makes fun of Hazel for making her wish to go to Disney World; something he sees as cliche and pretty much a waste.
When I was in PA for my first surgery, I was allowed a few "day passes" as I started to heal. I remember riding int he car and a new Garth Brooks song came on (She's Every Woman). As I was singing along to the song, my dad said I should wish to go see Garth Brooks -front row - because its was something my parents couldn't ever guarantee they could give me. They could take me shopping, or to buy a new computer, or to a theme park; if that was what I wanted. They thought my wish should be something they couldn't give me . . . and so, I made my wish - tickets to a Garth Brooks concert.
Not only was my wish granted, but my family was able to spend time talking with Garth Brooks . . 30 minutes! WITH GARTH BROOKS!! We were flown to Detroit, taken by limo every where we went, had a HUGE basket of goodie in our HUGE suite, given money to pay for dinner AND to go shopping . . . I mean, it was like we were royalty for the weekend.
And did I mention I met Garth Brooks?! Perfect wish.
Meeting Garth Brooks was amazing, . . . but its as only one night. Make-A-Wish is much more than just one night. It's hours and days of dreaming. Hours deciding what wish is just right. Its hours of thinking of something other than how sick you feel. Make-A-Wish is a healing force. It is something that takes your mind off your current situation and helps you dream of happier days.
Some day, I will volunteer for Make-A-Wish. I want to be a wish coordinator/wish granter. I want to be the genie. Until then, I will continually make donations to Make-A-Wish because I know the impact they can have on a child. How they can make a extraordinarily bad situation an extraordinarily amazing situation.
So, I've decided that from today until August 10th, any commission I receive from a Thirty-One purchase will be donated to Make-A-Wish. If you'd like to help, you may place an order at www.mythirtyone.com/jillsteffes