Open Letter Challenge

My friend, Josh, wrote a post on his blog that literally changed my life. His post: “An Open Letter to You from the Rest of World” is what inspired me to blog through the Bible in a year (and not quit in January)!

So now, he’s sponsoring a contest to encourage people to respond to his inspirational “Letter from the Rest of the World.” So I figured I’d give it a go… especially since I struggle daily with the tension between working to achieve my dreams and my home-bound responsibilities to care for Anne (my disabled daughter).

As I live in this constant tension, I’ve come to the realization that the best way to make an impact for good is not necessarily to write the next NY Times bestseller, but to surrender to the servant’s call of caring for Anne.

So here’s my response to “the rest of the world.” Let me know what you think!

Hi world!

It’s me…that skinny, freckle-faced girl with red hair and glasses. Yep… just me :)

Supposedly, I have something to offer you, but I feel much too small to offer your big-ole-self anything of significance…

You see, I spend my days taking care of my daughter who has a severe brain injury. What could I possibly offer you?

Every morning, as I walk into her room, she looks at me and asks, “Where are we going today, Mama?” And I say, “We are going to school,” but I think, “She wants me to show her the world.”

Then I carry her to the bathroom, and she sits and I sit, and we wait for her broken body to do what it has to do. And we wait, and she asks, “What are we doing today, Mama?” And I say, “Today’s a therapy day,” but I think, “We are going to persevere and never give up.”

And then I dress her and brush her teeth and put on her braces that straighten her crooked feet – so that she can stand. And as she stands, she stretches and lifts her one good hand to the sky – as if she might really touch it. And she looks up at me, and she smiles.

You might consider her lowly, broken and burdensome. But everyday I watch her bring light, beauty and grace to others.

Somehow she is able to fly in her brokenness. She not only flies, she soars, and she brings me along with her. She helps me laugh. She helps me love.

So this is what I offer to you, world…

Joy in the midst of hardship…

Rest in the midst of chaos,

And a Brokenness that breeds Strength.

I also offer you my disabled daughter, because she is priceless. I get to take care of her. And I am so grateful.

So if you happen to see us out and about, be sure to say, “Hi,” because my little girl gives the best hugs!

With Sincerity and Gratitude,

Me

19 thoughts on “Open Letter Challenge”

  4. krista says:

    Kathryn, your writing always makes me smile. You have such a gift….and you are such a good mama and set such a wonderful example for all of the world to see! Don’t think for one second that what you do ever goes unnoticed….you and Anne make the world a better place….
    xoxo

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  10. Pingback: Open Letter Challenge [Writing Contest] | Josh Irby

  11. Moms like you are priceless, Kathryn. I am not a mom, but I have one that is priceless, like you. I pray our infinitely good Father to continue to richly bless you and make you see He is always so close.

    And give you an eternity with Anne on the renewed earth. I would like to share two of my favorite Bible verses with you:

    “Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

    Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.

    Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

    Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert”. (Isaiah 35:3-6)

    and

    “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

    5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

    6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

    7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son”. (Revelation 21:4).

    I believe God has great things in store for Anne, you, me and everybody who gets a glimpse of Him and wants more. May all the love you are giving come back to you a million times!

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