Halfway to forever by Karen Kingsbury

A light huff slipped from his lips. His gaze fell to his lap and
the camera lying there. He wanted to do this for her, but how?
Tanner thought back over the months, how he hadn't been there
for Jade after her diagnosis...
If she was brave enough to speak a message to Maddie from
the bed of her hospital room, looking into their family video camera,
then in God's strength alone he would be strong enough to
film her.
He looked up and his eyes met hers. "I'm sorry." He held the
camera up and flipped the screen on the side. "Of course I'll film it."
Jade cleared her throat and nodded to Tanner. At her signal,
he began filming and she smiled into the camera. "Hi, Maddie. I'm here in the hospital room the day after
you were born, and-" she held up the pink journal-"I wanted to share a few things with you."
Tanner did his best to keep the camera still.
"This is a gift for you, Maddie. Something I've worked on for
272
long time. It's a book of letters from me to you." She smiled and
opened the journal, pointing to the pages inside. "Each letter is
sort of a talk, really. Something I might tell you when you take your first steps of say your first words. The
encouragement I'd give you on the first day of kindergarten or the first day of middle school."
The book was full, front to back, with handwritten letters. Tanner could see the tears in jade's eyes, but
only if he looked hard. His own silent tears blurred the image of jade, and he blinked, fighting for the
strength to continue as jade kept talking. "One letter tells you how I like to apply mascara and the best
way to blend foundation. Another tells you what to look for in a friend and what kind of boy to stay away
from."
Jade flipped through the pages. "I wrote you a letter for the day you get your first kiss and the day you
leave for college. And I wrote you a letter for the day you get married, sweetheart." She closed the
journal and held it close to her heart. "Those and lots more, honey. They're all here."
She hesitated and her smile faded just a bit. Tanner blinked back another wave of tears and tried not to
sniff. He didn't want anything to ruin the miracle he was capturing on tape. Jade swallowed hard. Her
eyes narrowed as though she could see the face of their daughter in the camera lens. "My prayer, honey, is
that you and I are watching this together. That we get the chance to watch it together lots of times and even
share it with your children one day." Jade plucked at her terry cloth bathrobe. "We can laugh at how silly I
look and talk about how much time has passed and how quickly. But whether I'm there or not, you'll know
that at this time in my life, I got sick. Very sick."
Tears slid from jade's eyes and she wiped them with her fingertips. Tanner wanted to rescue her, help her
through the moment,
but there was nothing he could do except keep the camera rolling.
277 Her voice trembled as she continued. "Tomorrow I'll start treatment, medicine and radiation that the
doctors hope will make me better. Then in two weeks I'll have an operation. One that we all believe will
save my life."
Jade steadied herself. "Your father and I have prayed about it
very much, and we believe God's word is true. He has a plan for
me, for you. For all of us. A plan to give us hope and a future and
not to harm us."
Her composure broke then. She brought her hand to her face
and for several seconds she hung her head, staving off the sobs