Jim & Maureen Fry

Jonathan James Fry - Our Gift from God

On July 28th, 1992, our son Jonathan James Fry was born in Euclid, Ohio. Much to our surprise, he arrived 5 weeks early. Jim always says there are 2 reasons Jonathan arrived so early: First, he wanted to have a summer birthday. Second, when Jonathan was old enough to speak in full sentences, one of his favorite questions (and still is today) is, "What are we doing next." So we figured that he was bored being on the inside and wanted to come out and get on to the next activity.

Our beautiful blue-eyed, blonde-haired gift from God was a very content and happy baby. Even though he was born prematurely and slightly small, his doctor always told us that as long as Jonathan had his own growth curve there was nothing to worry about. Jonathan crawled and pulled himself up on furniture at a normal age, but he did not take his 1st independent steps until he was 18 months old. His doctor said his walking fell within the normal range so Jim and I did not worry. He was a joyful toddler who loved to dance with Daddy, look at books in his crib, and became extremely excited at the sight and sounds of the trains we often saw in our area.

As with most toddlers, after Jonathan began to walk, a whole new world opened up for him. He continued to progress at a steady rate, learning his alphabet, exploring all the kitchen cabinets, and spending a great deal of time looking at books. His favorite stories were The Little Red Caboose, Daniel in the Lions Den, and Noah's Ark. I began putting up what I called "scripture trains" on his bedroom wall. These were short scriptures that I wrote on train stencils. Every day before nap time, Jonathan and I would read those together.

In early April of 1996 I had the honor of leading my precious and sincere 3½-year-old to the LORD. One night after reading to him before bed, he informed me not to forget to turn the light on in his closet because he was afraid of the monsters who lived in there. I sat down on the floor next to this bed and said, "If you want to ask Jesus to come live in your heart, you won't have to be afraid anymore." I explained the ABC's of salvation in very good 3-year-old language. Then he prayed and said, "I'm sorry when I don't listen to Mommy and Daddy. I believe Jesus loves me and I want Jesus to live in my heart." After he prayed, I got up and, without thinking, I walked over to the closet to turn on the light but stopped in my tracks when he said, "Oh no, Mommy. I don't need the light on anymore, because Jesus is with me." He went to sleep with a smile on his face and never again asked to have the closet light on.

A couple of weeks after that wonderful night, I felt a prompting of the Holy Spirit to take Jonathan to his doctor. In my heart I knew something was not right with Jonathan physically. His doctor ordered a blood test which revealed an elevated enzyme in Jonathan's liver. We were then referred to a pediatric neurologist at University Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. In early June I took him to see the specialist who told me, based on his physical observation of Jonathan, that he was sure he had Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy. He wanted Jonathan to have a DNA test to confirm his diagnosis. He gave me some information on what this meant for Jonathan, Jim and me before we left. I looked at it briefly before I began the hour drive home. Even though I cried as I drove, I knew that our Lord Jesus would not leave us to travel this road alone. Jonathan was joyfully singing along to a children's Christian tape about how much Jesus loved him. His simple faith and trust gave me such a sense of hope. It's wonderful to look back and see that in the midst of my grief, out of the mouth of our son came the reassuring words that Jesus loves us no matter what the news is or how it would forever change our lives.

The DNA results came back two weeks before we moved here. The test confirmed what the doctor thought. I am not ashamed to say the news shocked us to the core of our faith. To say anything else would be a lie. We knew that the Lord wanted us down here in Florida, but it was extremely difficult those 1st two years. We were 1200 miles from family, trying to make new friends, and wanting and needing support but not sure where to turn. We had begun attending First Baptist shortly after we arrived and by the following year both Jim and I were involved in different ministries. Jonathan began in AWANA as a cubbie and I as a leader. Jim was involved in the music ministry, teaching Sunday School, and Christian counseling. Through serving the Lord, slowly but surely, healing began to take place. There were days where we still struggled with questions that we would ask the Lord - sometimes wondering if we were being heard, but always knowing in the depths of our hearts that our faith in our loving Father would get us through those tough days.

On one of those nights where I was crying out to Jesus, I clearly heard Him say to me, "I will meet all of Jonathan's needs." At that time I was only thinking of his physical needs, but now years later, I can see that those words also apply to his emotional, mental and spiritual needs. Jonathan loved being involved in AWANA, and memorizing all those Scriptures came to be a great source of encouragement. After Jonathan had broken both his femurs in January of 2005, and he was in an extreme amount of pain, I asked him to choose a scripture we would both say aloud as I would move him from his wheelchair to his bed. He picked Phil. 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Saying those words aloud together helped both of us to focus on God's strength and not the pain. I never thought that Lori Doyal's simple request to consider becoming an AWANA leader in the summer of 1997 would come to be such a source of encouragement and strength for me. It is true that, "Faith without works is dead" (James 2:26). Serving the Lord brought me and continues to bring me faith, hope, healing, and encouragement.

Over the years we have seen God do great things in the life of our family. He has given us family and friends who have laughed, cried, let us openly share our struggles, and prayed for and with us. We have had many people ask how do we continue on each day? Our first response is, "We couldn't do it without our faith in the Lord Jesus." Although we do not understand why God has chosen this path for our family, Jim and I know that God has truly given us a wonderful gift whom we call Jonathan James Fry.