Mahatma Caden
MAHATMA CADEN leftover tempera on construction paper by Shannon White 07
My son was painting a reindeer for Christmas craft time in the craft room of the cancer ward at Children’s Mercy Hospital. As I watched him thin and bony, his aqua hospital gown sliding off one shoulder and his head shiny with hair loss from all the chemotherapy he was receiving, he reminded me of the peaceful resistance figure, Mahatma Ghandi. Caden was fighting as he could to live, carrying a deep God-given spiritual life within him which radiated from the darkeness of the situation into a luminescent hope. The beauty of suffering with a purpose struck me as I sat beside him. I struggled to maintain this hope and my own identity as I used his leftover paint to express this mysterious beauty of life which carried in it a vigilant prayer and I am sure, the prayers of many others who joined us in this journey. There has been victory in this quiet battle as Caden’s cancer is now gone. Thank you to all who have been a part of this resistance.
Shannon, Tears well up in my eyes as I look at the painting knowing the miracle that God did in his little body. We continue to praise God for his special healing. We are so very thankful.