This was what the Zells were doing Friday evening at Children's Hospital. We absolutely had to share these pictures with you. 

 

When we were regulars on the 9th floor at Children's Hospital, I remember walking past two separate bell ceremonies. The feelings I had were complex. I was deliriously happy for the family and felt myself gazing into the party room to see all the faces enjoying the celebration. At the same time, it stung quite a bit. We didn't know at that time if we would be having one. 

Before cancer, I had heard about bell ceremonies and seen clips on TV, but it always seemed a bit cheesy to me. It doesn’t feel that way anymore. I can't even watch a commercial about cancer without tearing up. Cancer is formidable, and it takes an army of people to help each patient beat it. The bell ceremony not only celebrates Jonah. It also recognizes the doctors, nurses, techs, family, and friends that fought it together. That includes all of you!! 

Having a child go through cancer has been a masterclass in life. We have experienced the entire range of human emotions multiple times. We found strength when we didn't know we had it, and we learned to let ourselves fall apart in tears when we needed to. We went through a lot, but we also learned a lot. One of the most profound lessons I learned was about you. 

 

During this trial, many people reminded us that God had His loving arms around us. They were absolutely right. He did. From diagnosis day one, we felt that God had His loving, fatherly arms in a huge circle around the Zell family. His hands were attached tightly, making sure there was no breaks in the circle. We were always safe, even though we had no control. 

 

As the months went on, our mental picture of God protecting us with this loving arm circle changed. 

 

Imagine a target. The Zell family is the center dot. Jonah is standing in the very middle. His parents and siblings have their arms intertwined around each other and are surrounding him. The outer circle of the target is God. What cancer taught us was the importance of the "layer between" the center dot and the outer circle. The layer between us and God is all of you. 

God didn't give me a rock with a date and a bible verse on it to commemorate all the major milestones of Jonah's journey. Beth did. God didn't make homemade Zell-sized meals and deliver them to our house. Lisa did. God didn't send me care packages filled with my favorite things in my favorite colors. Angie, Holly & Susan did. God didn't send us cards, texts, and emails reminding us we were being prayed for. You did. This list could go on and on for pages. It would include new friends, old friends, family, past and present teachers, work colleagues, church family, and sometimes people we hadn't met, but were connected to us somehow and felt called to pray for Jonah. 

 

When we weren't paying attention, God was building us a customized "layer between" that we would need to survive Jonah's cancer. He assembled many people, most who share a deep faith. They believe that God loves us so much that He sent Jesus to save us from our sins. In response to that, they are called to take that love and amazing grace and care for one another. And did they ever!! 

As cancer went on, more people came along and were added into the layer between us and God. As Todd and I were discussing this, we remembered the volume experiment from grade school. A glass cylinder looked full of rocks. Then you poured in a cup of marbles. Now it looked full. Next, you poured in sand and then water. Just when you thought it was full, more fit in. That is what was happening with our layer between. People were supporting us who we barely knew. There was always space for one more person. By the end, we imagined the "layer between" being thousands of people, shoulder to shoulder, each taking God's love and turning it into something tangible to support our family. 

 

We have spent the last six months being the recipients of so much love and prayer. There is absolutely no way we can fully thank you all for what you've done for us. We could not have done this without you. 

 

The Zells now need to switch gears. We need to step out of the center dot. Jonah is cancer free. Take off the green Jonah vs Lymphoma wristbands. Jonah won. It is time to get him stronger, and prepare for him to head off to college in January. It feels wonderful to be looking forward and making plans. We haven't been able to do that until now.  We also need to be as faithful as all of you have been and look for opportunities to show God's love to others. You have given us the detailed roadmap for how to do it. 

 

"My command is this. Love each other as I have loved you. " John 15:12 

 

With hearts full of thankfulness,

The Zell Family 

 

P.S. Please continue to pray for Cristian. He has three more rounds of chemo to go. Of course, God surprised us by having Cristian at the hospital during Jonah's ceremony. We included a picture of Jonah and Cristian. We want our honorary son from Mexico to have his own bell ceremony.