HELD

There is a young boy laying in a hospital bed right now fighting for his life. He is fighting a head injury. A cracked skull, broken cheek bone, contusions, crushed sinus' & a blood clot.
As of right now, I don't know what is going on in his little body, or how much longer he will be in ICC. I don't know how to fight for him, or for his family, so at this time, all I can do is sit & pray.
I ask that you would do the same.
You probably don't know him. His name is Chase Sexton & his grandfather is the famed preacher Tommy Barnett.
Little Tommy Chase & I have a special bond. He was in my Pre-school class (*called Rainbows in the Assemblies of God denomination) that I taught ten years ago. And every Sunday since he was a young child he would grin at me with a twinkle in his eye, and a look of certain mischief (he looks just like his grandfather, twinkle & all). He'd give me hugs. He would tell me that he loved me. He would share his candy with me too. (For a small boy, that's a pretty big thing.)
He was on my team at youth camp for the last two years. Last year, 2004, he let me dress him up like a girl & put makeup on him. He smiled & laughed about it. He was "Olga, the Test Tube baby." He got more laughs than anyone else on the stage. Poor guy lost his voice, so you couldn't hear him recite his lines over the laughter.
This year he begged me to let him do something cool again at camp. He dressed up like a Sumo wrestler for our skit & donned a cowboy hat. Sure enough by the time we got on stage to do our skit, he had lost his voice again! (It's from all of that team spirit & cheering for his friends during the games!) This year he played Pastor Todd. Again, he got the most laughs, and no one could hear him because of it!
He sat with me at breakfast one morning & told me how much he loved me. He told me that I was the coolest youth leader ever. He wanted to be on my team EVERY YEAR! I always think that I am going to quit youth leadership, but Chase & others like him remind me why I continue on. When you have a friend like that, sometimes you need them more than they need you.
For the last two years he was nominated as "Camper of the Year." He sacrificed for his team mates. He would do ANYTHING that was asked of him. He played all the games, he sang songs, gave input when asked for it, and even encouraged the other campers to listen and have "Happy Hearts."
When I got the news that his little body was being air-evac'd to Phoenix, from Payson (where he was visiting his paternal family), I was in shock. It has never crossed my mind that Chase wouldn't be around. Or that anything could happen to him. He was invincible. He was the kid that looked forward to goofy stunts, he did that stuff to get a laugh out of people.
Chase always wanted to make someone smile. He didn't care if he knew you or not. He didn't care if you knew who he was. If you were happy or sad, rich or poor. Chase was like a miniature version of his grandfather.
When I was four I started attending Phoenix First. I was poor. I was abused. I didn't have the prettiest dresses or the neatest hair. I rode the busses to church. Pastor Barnett used to put his arms around me and hug me & tell me that he loved me so much. It didn't matter to him that I wasn't the prettiest girl or that my parents didn't give thousands of dollars a year to the church.
Tommy Chase is the same way. I don't drive the nicest car. I don't have the most expensive clothes. I live in a good neighborhood, but its not as nice as others. Chase still gave me a hug every time he saw me. He still makes sure to tell me that I'm the best and that he loves me. Just like his grandpa Barnett.
It's because of people like Pastor Barnett & his grandson, Chase, that I have known the love of God. I have known that not everyone is concerned with the outward appearance, but with the relationship that comes from within. They understand that God looks at the innerman, not the outerman. Pastor Barnett & Chase show others that they love you for who you are inside, for who you will be inside, one day.
That is why Chase is going to be okay. Because if he isn't then there will be no one to carry on the legacy of finding a need and filling it. When I need a hug or a smile you had better believe that Chase is one person that I look for. Chase has a purpose in his young life. He knows what it is & he walks in that everyday.
This is why I know that God is holding Chase right now. He is protecting him. He is healing him as we speak. Because people need to know Christ's love & Chase may be the only way that they ever know it.