Connection is such a deeply engrained part of the human spirit. Especially in moments that are difficult, my soul longs for connection.

The Lord knew that Jace needed connection and encouragement when he was in the hospital this summer, having his third open heart surgery.

Rewind almost four years ago and my husband and I were in the NICU with Jace who was 3 days old, waiting to have his first open heart surgery. The days were long and we basically lived at the hospital. We spent time learning to take care of Jace in his incubator; sponge baths, bottle feeds, taking his vital signs. We wanted to soak in every minute with our new baby, wishing he could remain scar-free and not have to go through the pain and discomfort that was ahead.

One day in the snack room, my husband met another Dad who was in the NICU with his wife and daughter. His daughter, Sailor, was 2 days younger than Jace and was a single ventricle kiddo, just like Jace. The left side of Jace’s heart did not develop, and the right side of Sailor’s heart didn’t develop. My husband was happy to meet another dad who could relate and shortly after they met, I met his wife. We immediately hit it off and in the days to come we were able to go into each child’s room and pray for each other’s children. We have been able to keep in touch the past four years and encourage each other, as our journeys are quite similar.

This summer, through a crazy set of circumstances, Sailor and Jace both changed hospitals and after many different possible surgery dates, the two of them were scheduled for surgery four days apart.

Knowing that Sailor and her parents were there at the hospital brought us such comfort. The day Sailor was ready to go home, she and Jace were able to see each other! Jace was still in a lot of pain and had his chest tubes in and we weren’t sure he was going to be up for seeing Sailor and the long journey down the hall. Up to this point, Jace was pretty down. He was angry and sad, sad that he had to be at the hospital and tired of all the pokes and prods. He was discouraged.

I’m so happy these two were able to see each other. Seeing Sailor lifted Jace’s spirits so much. So much so that he wanted to walk along the brick wall (chest tubes and all) because he saw Sailor doing this. They played a game together and it was the first fun thing Jace had experienced since his surgery.

Being with Sailor, playing with her and seeing that she had the same brave scar he had made a world of difference to Jace. This is the power of connection. It can lift a defeated and discouraged soul.

I am saddened by the lack of in person connection the past two years. I believe that isolation and fear are two things that the enemy of our soul tries places in us. The devil wants us to feel like we are alone, like we are the only ones who are experiencing something, or that we should be alone because no one will want to be with us. This is such a lie. Whenever I am feeling like this, I know that I need to be around others.

It also makes me sad to see how our fear has caused isolation and lack of connection. The fear of sickness and ultimately the fear of death, has caused us to miss out on opportunities for community, encouragement and healing.

Jace and Sailor are special buddies. They were able to spend time with each other and encourage each other during one of the hardest weeks of their little three year old lives. Who do you need to be with today? How would connecting with someone lift your spirits, and theirs? Fight the lies of isolation and fear and connect with someone today.