House Where Faith Lives

By Dorothy Hughes Post

The name “Joshua” means “be strong and courageous,” and that is what one little boy has demonstrated in facing a life-threatening illness. 

Terri Olson couldn’t sleep.  So she sat on the floor of the newly-completed nursery in her home in suburban Chicago and prayed.  And dreamed of the child whose room it soon would be.

She saw herself in those dreams, too.  “I had it all set up in my mind,” she recalls.  “I remember thinking that I would have my child eat all the right foods.  I would only have a certain time of day that would be cookie or candy time.  I was going to be the perfect mother.”

She did have some concerns because of a difficult pregnancy.  But that night all her dreams of life with Jeff, her husband, and their child were happy ones.  Today, six years later, she says, “I never imagined what was in front of us.  I’m so thankful that the Lord doesn’t show us what’s ahead.”

What Terri and Jeff didn’t know then was that within 48 hours of his birth, their son Joshua would undergo emergency life-saving surgery.  They didn’t know he would be diagnosed with several diseases so rare most physicians do not know they exist.  Or that by the time he turned three, doctors would determine his primary problem to Pseudo-Obstruction Syndrome, a gastro-intestinal disorder for which there is no cure nor any known survivor beyond the age of six.  They were spared any inkling of the agonizing emotional, physical and financial burdens that have become their constant companions.

Reality has proved to be quite different from Terri’s happy dreams.  At times, that reality has been heartbreaking for Terri and Jeff.  But not overwhelming.  For one dream has come true, and it has given meaning to all that the family has endured.

“The one thing I was sure of,” Terri recalls, “was that my children were going to be raised in a Christian home.  We were going to teach them to love and trust the Lord.”  Terri and Jeff, active soldiers of the Norridge Citadel, IL Corps, have taught those lessons well.  Today, six-year-old Joshua serves God courageously, with his whole heart.

“Joshua’s strong faith is unbelievable,” says Jeff.  “Several times when he has been in one of his treatments where we’re causing him great pain, he’s cried out to Jesus to help him.  No one taught him that, he’s never heard anybody else do that, so there’ something else that’s special, something that most people cannot understand.”

When he was two-and-a-half years old, Joshua sat in his high chair one day and waited for lunch.  Terri saw him put his hands together and pray.  When he was finished, she showered him with praise.  “Josh, that’s such a good boy.  Jesus loves that!”  His reply stunned her.  “Mommy, Jesus just kissed me – right here.”  He pointed to his cheek.  “Jesus kissed me.  And I feel warm all over.”

No wonder Joshua’s parents maintain that he has already experienced the life of faith to a degree many adults never know.  They are convinced that, for however many days he spends on this earth, Joshua is an example of vigorous faith to other believers. 

Fellow Salvationist Ed Homer agrees.  “Spiritually, Joshua is far beyond his years.  He has a relationship with the Lord that shows in his lifestyle and in his joy.  His testimony has to be an example to anybody who is watching.”

“When we named him Joshua,” Terri explains, “we had no idea of the battle he had ahead of him.  But we couldn’t have picked a better name.  He has a lot of characteristics that Joshua in the Bible has.  The Biblical Joshua was told many times, ‘Be strong and courageous.’  And those two words – strong and courageous-describe our Josh best.  Also, everything the Lord told Joshua to, he did.  Our Joshua has shown that same kind obedient faith.”

A plaque on the front door of the Olson home testifies to one and all, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).

“I really think,” Terri asserts, “that Joshua’s main purpose in life is to serve the Lord, even if it’s through being sick, and showing people he can be courageous and that he has learned to depend on the Lord.”

Still, both parents are quick to point out that Joshua is no plaster saint.  He is a normal little boy.  He loves to wrestle with his dad and his dog, Bodo, and go sledding with the entire family.  While he and his younger sister, Taylor, love each other, they argue as often and as loudly as most brothers and sisters.

His blonde, blue-eyed good looks and perpetual smile belie the seriousness of his illnesses.  “If you were to walk into his room right now and see Joshua, you would not believe that his sick or had any problems in the world,” say Jeff.  “He wakes up each day fresh and renewed and ready for that day.  He tries to put his best foot forward and go on with life.  He loves sports, he loves riding his bike.  He is a typical little boy who want to run around and have a good time.”

Joshua loves people, too.  He prays every day, “Thank you, Jesus.  I love you.  I love everyone.”  Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins form the core of his circle of loved ones.  He enjoys a special bond with his corps office, Major Eugene Anderson, with Ed Homer and with his doctor.  But his love spills over to everyone who visits.  “Several times,” Jeff recalls, “people have gotten in their cars and driven away and the next thing I know, I’m running down the street, flagging them down.  They have to come back because Josh forgot to give them hugs and kisses!”

His enthusiastic embrace of life is remarkable for someone unable to eat any food, who receives all his nutrition through a central line surgically placed in his heart, who suffers daily through painful life-support procedures.  Sometimes he cries and wonders why he has to have that central line.  But in spite of tears, Josh trusts god for every aspect of his life.  Even his death. Recently, he said to his mother, “Mom, I’m not afraid to die.  I know if I die, I’m going to be right away with Jesus.”  Pausing, he added, “But you know, it is kind of sad!”

Such abiding faith is remarkable in one so young, until one realizes that his parents demonstrate that same faith twenty-four hours a day! 

Terri, the daughter of Howard and Sherri Cox and a fifth-generation Salvationist, became a Christian at age eleven.  Jeff was converted during his high school years, through an inter-denominational youth group.  The couple met through Terri’s brother, Randy.  After they began dating, Jeff began to attend the corps with Terri and eventually became a soldier himself.

After their marriage, they both played in the corps band, taught a high school Sunday school class together and led a teenage youth group.  Terri worked as a CAT scan technologist.  Jeff graduated from college and began work as a business forms and printing salesman.  He has since become president of a small office supply company.

Their idyllic life was shattered within hours of Joshua’s birth.  His colon ruptured and he was rushed into surgery.  He spent the next three months in an intensive care unit.  Nine months later, just as Joshua seemed headed for recovery, Terri discovered she was pregnant again. 

Neither Terri nor Jeff knew how they would cope.  Joshua required a great deal of attention and his hospital bills had brought them to the brink of financial disaster.  Worse yet, because Terri had been taking medication for severe migrane headaches when she became pregnant, doctors could give no guarantee that this baby would be free of disastrous health problems.  They suggested abortion as one solution.  Terri remembers, “We didn’t know if there would be deformities.  All we could think about was, ‘How can we afford this?  I can’t handle another baby.’  But I knew there was no way I could abort my baby.  No matter what was wrong with it, I knew that was not what the Lord intended for me.”

This second pregnancy was so difficult that Terri was forced to spend the last three months in bed. But when their daughter, Taylor, was born, she was completely healthy.  Terri often prays in gratitude, “Oh, Lord, how could I have ever doubted You?  You gave me such a beautiful little girl!”

The faith of the entire Olson family has been tested through Joshua’s frequent health crises.  They grieve that, barring a miracle, their life with Josh will be brief.  But neither one blames God, for they do not believe that He caused Joshua’s problems.  And though they do not understand the purpose of all that Joshua suffers, they believe God knows-and cares. They trust Him for the future.  “As much as our hearts long to know that Josh is always going to be here with us, we know that isn’t the way reality is.  We’ve learned to accept the way things are,” say Terri.”

They need faith to sustain them every moment of every day.  “A lot of times we fear going into Josh’s room, that maybe we’re going to find he’s gone to be with the Lord,” admits Terri.  There are days, too, when they become exhausted physically and emotionally from caring for Joshua, when everything seems too hard.  “There are many times I’ve wished I could just give up, says Jeff.  “The hardest part of this whole situation is watching the suffering Josh goes through every day.  I do not believe any man could handle that by himself.”

Fortunately, most of the time when one of them has reached the end of endurance, the other has been there to take over for a while and to uplife.  As Terri says, “We have a pretty wonderful marriage.  We’re there to help one another, and we make quite a team.  I’m sure the Lord knew what He was doing when He put the two of us together.”

In spite of Joshua’s illnesses, Jeff and Terri try to make family life as full and normal as possible.  Last winter, all of them went tobogganing several times, while Josh’s golden retriever, Bodo, pranced down the hill alongside the sled. 

During a stay in the hospital last November, Joshua said to his father, “You know, I haven’t seen the Bulls play yet!”  Through the kindness of friends, Jeff has been able to take Josh to basketball, football and hockey games.  When Joshua was five, the entire family went camping, though their mini-van was crammed with coolers for his antibiotics and though he had to be hooked up to life-sustaining machinery much of the time.  As complicated as these experiences are to carry out, the Olsons realize how important they are-and what precious memories they will be.

Terri and Jeff’s faith has been strengthened by the love of family members and fellow Salvationists.  In addition to emotional support, people have provided practical assistance, such as cleaning the house or preparing a meal.  Three of Terri’s sisters are medical professionals and can care for Josh so the couple can get away occasionally for much needed recreation and rest.

The cost of Joshua’s care is astronomical.  Bankruptcy remains an ever-present threat.  Norridge Corps members, led by Major Anderson and Ed and Marge Homer, have established a Joshua Olson Medical Fund to provide financial aid.  This past June, 71 bowlers and 725 sponsors raiser $13,000 with a bowl-a-thon, the second one of its kind.  Terri’s father, assisted by several other soldiers, has made a cassette tape of hyms to raise money to help with Joshua’s constant medical expenses.

Corps members have been enriched, not diminished, as they have given to the Olson family.  Ed Homer notes, “Joshua’s illness has engendered a tremendous amount of faith in a lot of people.  It has prompted generosity, of both money and spirit, in a lot of people at the corps who have never done that before.  It has caused people to open up and share.”

As meaningful as the money is prayer support.  “We know that all over the world, prayer has gone up,” says Terri with awe.  “The Lord has continued to show His love for us through these people.”

In a letter Jeff wrote to corps friends last November during another crisis, he commented on miracles in Joshua’s life.  “When doctors have not been able to figure out how he pulled through, we have known and praised God for the miracles.  Thought Joshua’s life has been spared many times, there will come a day when he will be called by God to join Him in Paradise.  When that time arrives, Josh will not want you to question or doubt God.  He will want you to praise His name for the time we have had and the lives he was able to touch.”

And when that time comes, faith will live on in the Olson home.

Josh's Hope Foundation is a not for profit 501 (c) 3 organization and does not discriminate against any type of disability, race, gender or religion.