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Jess Ronne is living the simple life in rural Tennessee. She’s navigating an organic, simplistic, and holistic lifestyle with her husband and 8 children. And she has vowed to no longer wear anything that doesn’t feel like pajamas. 🙂
She’s the author of Sunlight Burning at Midnight, a memoir that chronicles her pregnancy and birth of her special needs son and the loss of her husband to brain cancer.
Jess’s ability to see through all the mess and get down to living simply is what encourages me the most. I have to believe this comes from all of the unrelenting heartbreaks that she endured in a short period of time in her 20’s and 30’s. When she was pregnant with her second baby, doctors gave her grim news: the baby suffered a stroke in the womb. For her entire pregnancy she carried a baby who had a death sentence before he was even born. But nonetheless a miracle happened: Lucas was born! And he has done immensely well in light of the fact that doctor’s didn’t believe he’d live more than hours after his birth. She tells us a bit more about Lucas as Jess and I talk about how children with special needs have an ability to be close to God in such a rich way. They have the ability to really connect with the simplicity of the faith of God.
A few years after Lucas was born, Jason, Jess’s husband, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Prepared to fight this diagnosis with good health and good nutrition (and the fact that Jason was relatively healthy, athletic person) they just believed that this was a trial that they would overcome. However, a year later the cancer came back with a vengeance. During all this, Jess is wrestled with God. She said that this involved a lot of anger with God… until, at the very end, her heart was changed.Jess talks about glimpses of heaven that God gave her toward the end of Jason’s life. She recounts about stories where she saw God speaking through Jason and how she believes God and his angels were comforting Jason during this process which in turn comforted her.
We walk the difficult road of recounting Jason’s death, and talk about how he left on his own terms, which ultimately brings a smile to Jess’s face. In his effort to save Jess the pain of watching him go, Jason left in a way that became a bitter but simultaneously a sweet memory for Jess.
Jess’ husband Jason spent years battling his brain tumor until ultimately cancer took his life. Within the span of six years of marriage, Jess became a widow left alone to care for their four young children, including one with special needs.
One of the most redeeming parts of the story is that God provided Jess with a new opportunity for love. Jess had been blogging her accounts as a way to keep friends and family updated with Jason’s cancer diagnosis. Ryan, who had also been blogging about his wife and her brain cancer diagnosis, lost his wife 4 days after Jason died. Ryan was left devastated to care for his three children.
A stranger who had read both blogs connected them, and they quickly fell in love and merged their two families together.
Through the loss of Jason, Jess really learned what life was about. We talked about how to choose an eternal perspective when life gets in the way (drowning in laundry, bickering kids, paying the bills). Jess shares that she feels like she’s gone through so much and it’s a gift that God gave her about perspective. Also, sharing life with her husband who ALSO lost a spouse is a sweet gift from God where Jess and Ryan can instantly feel connected. Resentment and anger don’t fester in the Ronne household because of this. And the spirit of Thankfulness becomes an overarching theme to combat any hardship they may face.
Jess shares a great word of wisdom of obedience, surrender, and submission. I hope you’ll drink that in and find ways it can apply to your life’s trials (no matter their size!).
I won’t ever forget the lesson Jess taught me about what real healing looks like. She reminds us that we WILL have pain and suffering this side of eternity but that the growth we obtain through our obedience shows the healing that God blesses us with on this side of heaven.
