It is especially powerful to the recipient family if the person or family donating writes a message of hope or encouragement inside. This message lets them know that even on this day when the world is busy celebrating that they have not been forgotten. Their children are being thought of and prayed for and regardless of their particular religious belief the message of love and comfort from others is a powerful

At Tyler’s Tree, we believe that God has directed and grown this ministry to share his love and comfort with these families during their most desperate moments. So many people have been blessed because of the kind actions and words of strangers from many different backgrounds and faiths. We believe that God calls us to love all people. We hope that regardless of the particular religious beliefs of the person donating a book or receiving a book that the spirit and love that is carried with the book transcends any differences. Caring for one another during times of need is not only called upon us by God, but is also part of the human experience and can be appreciated by all people.  
 
Why Tyler’s Tree?

Six months after Tyler passed away, in their grief, the Dudleys began searching for a way to honor Tyler’s life and share his name and memory with others. As many parents who have suffered the loss of a child, they felt a constant fear of forgetting along with the constant pain in remembering.

Kindermourn, a grief organization, recommended to them that they create a special place just for Tyler…maybe a garden. They loved this idea and on the hottest day in July 2004, the entire family started a garden in Tyler’s memory. This garden was going to be a place where the whole family could go and just rest and think and feel his presence. The very first thing planted in this garden was a tiny little tree. This became affectionately known by Tyler’s two year old sister, Isabelle, as Tyler’s Tree. The next month Laurie felt a strong calling that Tyler’s Tree was meant to grow and that Tyler’s name and memory would be used for God’s glory and for the comfort of others, who would find themselves in the same situations as the Dudley’s.

The idea of Tyler’s Tree was created because the Dudleys knew how difficult it was to have a child in the hospital, but at Christmas difficult became truly unbearable. On Christmas friends and family are home celebrating with their loved ones and the world literally seems to stop. This is a day of celebration and joy for most, but for those children and their parents who are suffering with illness it is easy to feel desperately lonely and forgotten. They cannot escape the reality of their situation and this is the moment when they need to know the most that they have not been forgotten. We know that we cannot make them better nor can we get them home for Christmas, but if we can take a book and put a message of love and encouragement inside and deliver it to them, they can then take that book and read it to a child who is too weak to even turn their head. They can share the comforting sound of their voice when there is nothing else they can do to help. It gives them something to do, something to say when often there are no words, it gives them a Christmas memory.

We pray that these children heal and are able to go home and that Tyler’s Tree and their book helped them though a very lonely and desperate time, leaving them with at least one positive memory of that Christmas, but sometimes the unthinkable happens, and like Tyler, the child doesn’t get better. In these cases the impact of a strangers’ kindness, along with the memory of using the words in the book to share the comfort of your voice with your child, is a priceless gift. Nothing can make it better, but this can bring comfort and a reminder that no matter what life brings, they are not alone.

Why Books?

In Tyler’s last few hours the Dudleys felt completely helpless. They were told he would live about 30 minutes. They held in him their arms and noticed that the sound of their voices seemed to comfort him, improving his vital signs, but they ran out of things to say. A nurse who had told them the day before to bring in books handed them one and told them to read to him. For the next 8 hours they held their son and loved him as much as they could during the extra time God gave them with him. This was the most precious time of their lives. Sometimes all that can be done is to love and for these children the sound of their parents’ voices is the greatest gift.