YOU are my Sunshine. .. I LOVE You....

To,

My Reader,

Hi! This was a part of the New Years 2011 homily. It touched my heart. And I hope for you to read on.

Only Love will give you the strength to go on, the courage to fight the odds. Only love will see the light in the darkest of situations. Only love, will lead you home. Only LOVE….

I wish you a heart full of love,

                        Anita Almeida.

Like any good mother, when Karen found that another baby was on the way, she did what she could to help her 3-year-old son, Michael, prepare for a new sibling. Day after day, night after night, Michael sings to his sibling in Mommy's tummy.

The pregnancy progresses normally for Karen. Then the labor pains come. But complications arise during delivery. Hours, of labour. Finally, Michael's little sister is born. But she is in serious condition.  With siren howling in the night, the ambulance rushes the infant to the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Mary's Hospital, Knoxville, Tennessee.

As the days inch by, the little girl gets worse. The pediatric specialist tells the parents, "There is very little hope. Be prepared for the worst."

Karen and her husband contact a local cemetery about a burial plot. They have fixed up a special room in their home for the new baby, now they plan a funeral. Michael, begs his parents to let him see his sister, "I want to sing to her," he says.

Week two in intensive care. It looks as if a funeral will come before the week is over. Michael keeps nagging about singing to his sister, but kids are never allowed in Intensive Care.

Karen makes up her mind. She will take Michael whether they like it or not. If he doesn't see his sister now, he may never see her alive.

She dresses him in an oversized scrub suit and marches him into ICU. He looks like a walking laundry basket, but the head nurse recognizes him as a child and bellows, "Get that kid out of here NOW! No children are allowed in ICU."

The mother rises up strong in Karen, the usually mild-mannered lady glares steel-eyed into the head nurse's face, her lips a firm line. "He is not leaving until he sings to his sister!"

Karen tows Michael to his sister's bedside. He gazes at the tiny infant losing the battle to live. And he begins to sing.

In the pure hearted voice of a 3-year-old, Michael sings:

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine,

you make me happy when skies are gray

You'll never know dear, how much I love you,

Please don't take my sunshine away.

The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping.

I dreamed I held you in my arms.

When I awoke dear, I was mistaken.

So I hung my head and I cried.

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.

Please don't take my sunshine away.

Instantly the baby girl responds.

The pulse rate becomes calm and steady.