September 2013’s prayer requests:
Please pray for Anne…
Thank you so much! Your continued prayer and support after all these years is an inspiration to our family!
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
I took this picture in church this morning (when I should have been listening to the prayer!) It absolutely melts my heart. Eric is the best of the best. I’m so thankful to be married to him… But our marriage has been severely tested since the accident…
I now understand why so many marriages crumble after tragedy – especially if the tragedy concerns your children. The grief is so heavy that it can take all of your energy just to get through the day. There is rarely emotional energy left over to connect with your spouse.
The problem is compounded by the fact that everyone grieves differently. Yes, I know most people go through the five stages of grief, but people go through the stages at different rates. The wife might be stuck in denial while the husband is in the anger phase. One spouse might get to acceptance quickly while the other stays in depression for years.
Meanwhile the marriage suffers because it just takes so much more effort than it used to – and who has that much energy? It’s definitely easier to give up than to fight to sustain the marriage.
But I married someone who refuses to give up. My grief after Anne’s accident was so thick at times that it would have been easy to give up, but Eric was committed to pursue me, and God gave us the grace to fight.
Now that we’ve been through our darkest days and come out on the other side together, I figured it was time to celebrate! So for Eric’s birthday, I gave him 12 pre-planned date nights* – one for each month of the next year. Every date is different. Some are extravagant and others are just simple nights at home – but every reservation has been pre-made and pre-paid, so we have no excuse… we must go!
Eric’s birthday present
Our first date was last night. We went to the Atlanta Fish Market and then to the Aquarium. Eric said afterwards that it was rejuvenating, and that was my hope…. that as we take time to have fun together, this will give us energy to manage our little family – because parenting is harder now. Well… Everything is harder now. But that just makes life richer :)
Here’s to a great year, and the fight for a great marriage!
*And by the way… I stole the “date-night” idea from a friend’s Pinterest Board. Here’s the original link :)
After waiting 20 minutes just to turn into the school’s parking area, we were forced by the flow of traffic to park a long distance away from the front door. So, as I was quickly trying to wheel Anne through the parking lot, across the side walks and into the school doors, I think we were stopped 4 times by teachers and/or staff yelling, “Hey Anne!!” to which Anne would reach out her arms and receive a warm hug. The hugs didn’t stop when we entered the building… oh no. Everyone seems to know Anne and Anne welcomes everyone with a hug.
This is the joy of having a special needs child. Anne isn’t fluent in the norms of society. She shows love unashamedly, and amazingly, she receives the same sort of un-filtered affection in return.
I had to pick up Anne early from her first day of school for a Doctor’s appointment. This was a follow-up visit after a Botox treatment. (Anne receives Botox treatments in her spastic muscles to help increase her range of motion.)
This particular doctor and nursing staff have followed Anne since her days in the hospital. So… as you can imagine, Anne is just as well-loved at this doctor’s office as she is at school. Always making jokes, Anne keeps everyone laughing. Today she said…
“Why are you talking about Botox? You wanna know about Botox??? Well, I’m a girl and I always wear Botox in my hair.”
And that is why everyone loves Anne so much! She brings us so much joy!
Quick Prayer Request:
Anne’s favorite para-pro, Mrs. Bush, is not able to work with Anne because of under-staffing. Anne’s teacher is requesting an additional para-pro which hopefully will free up Mrs. Bush to work with her. That decision is under review at a meeting on August 14th. We’re praying for the best scenario to work out for Anne (and everyone else in Anne’s special needs class – including the other students and her teacher and para-pro’s).
August 2013’s prayer requests:
Please pray for Anne…
Thank you so much! Your continued prayer and support after all these years is an inspiration to our family!
Our summer is winding down. Anne goes back to school next Wednesday (8/7)!
Anne responded so well to serial casting that she only had to have three weeks of casts instead of six, so she will be able to go to school cast-free (serial casting is a technique that increases the range of motion in Anne’s ankle).
This is the first summer that Anne seems brighter and sharper at the end compared to the beginning. Her amazing use of language keeps us in stitches. She uses her words in such a clever and witty way.
The other day, Kate was working through a book of riddles, and Anne was able to figure out riddles which stumped Kate. Anne has excellent reasoning ability. She’s still so smart.
Her challenges are her short attention span, impulsivity and cortical visual impairment (CVI). (CVI is a broad term for visual impairment caused by a problem with the brain, rather than with the eyes.) These are all huge obstacles which Anne must overcome in order to read.
Fluent Reading and Fluid Walking. These are our two dream goals for Anne. These goals are so long-term, I feel like there are a hundred short-term goals to be met to get there. But we’ll keep plugging along… little step by little step.
God continues to supply exactly what we need precisely when we need it. Never less, and never more. We pray for the faith to trust him in the moment and leave the future in his hands. In the meantime, God uses Anne to give us so much joy! We are so grateful for the gift of her life!!
Today, I published my 200th straight post on bible365blog.com I can’t believe I’ve made it this far!!
And the best part… I am only ONE DAY AWAY FROM FINISHING EZEKIEL. This is wonderful for my whole family, because they are sick and tired of me complaining about how difficult Ezekiel is!!
I think we might have to celebrate. It’s Friday after all. Maybe we’ll have ice cream for dinner. Yes. Mint Chocolate Chip… or maybe Cookies and Cream. No… Mint Chocolate Chip :)
I think this has been Anne’s best summer yet. Anne makes good progress when she’s consistently challenged, and we’ve worked hard to make sure she has lots of challenges…
TheraSuit therapy + Church camp in June. Serial casting + reading tutoring in July. And when you add in trips to the pool and Six Flags – well, we’ve been busy.
I confess, I don’t typically have the energy for this type of schedule… I’m a read-a-book-at-home kinda gal. But I think God has given me an extra boost. That said, I’m thankful we only have three weeks left before Anne starts school :)
But she’s doing well. And so are the rest of us.
Oh! And Eric’s company generously decided to cover Anne’s TheraSuit therapy – but they said this would be the last year, so we’ll have to pray about what to do next year… But for this year, she’s covered!!! Thanks for your prayers and encouragement… they are sustaining us!
I’m halfway through with my year of blogging through the bible. I’m currently in Ezekiel, and I feel WAY over my head, but somehow God manages to give me something to write about every day. I’m really experiencing God’s strength through my weakness!
Something stood out to me yesterday as I was reading Ezekiel 8-11… These are the chapters describing Ezekiel’s first temple vision. At the end of this vision, God’s glory departs from the temple because of the enormous sin of the people.
In the middle of the vision, God sends angels out to execute judgment on all but the “remnant.” The judgment was so gruesome that it caused Ezekiel to cry out…
And while they were striking, and I was left alone, I fell upon my face, and cried, “Ah, Lord God! Will you destroy all the remnant of Israel in the outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?” (Ezekiel 9:8)
In the face of such wrath, could Ezekiel be doubting God’s goodness? I don’t know for sure… But I do resonate with the idea of questioning God’s goodness…
Sometimes we are surrounded by such dire circumstances, that we wonder how God could allow such suffering.
I’m familiar with all the theological answers to this age-old question. I get that suffering is a result of sin and that God uses suffering to bring about repentance, faith and sanctification. If you’ve read my blog, you know that I get that. I really do.
But sometimes, like Ezekiel, we are so overwhelmed that we cry out, “Enough is enough!” And whether or not this is an appropriate response or not… it still encourages me that Ezekiel had the guts to be honest. God is big enough to handle our honesty… it’s whether we are brave enough to be honest and vulnerable before God. I believe He meets us there. And I believe He loves us there…
July 2013’s prayer requests:
Please pray for Anne…
Thank you!
Crayons In My Water 