What's in a Year

What a difference a year makes. As we drove to Matt's company Christmas party this evening, I couldn't help but reminisce. One year ago...

Allie was just a few weeks old. I remember still being in pain from my c-section, worried about what clothes I would fit into, worried about leaving her for the evening.

Brady was a 19 month old boy who wasn't walking. He was having trouble pulling up like he used to be able to do. He was pretty clingy and the feeling in my heart that something was wrong started nagging me more and more.

We were only weeks away from the appointment with the developmental specialist where we would find out that Brady had cerebral palsy and would never gain typical motor skills, and might never walk. As you know this diagnosis was wrong, and as God knew, there was something much more serious happening in his tiny body.

One year...I'm sure I'll be talking a lot in the next months about where we were one year ago. I guess I do this because it is somewhat therapeutic for me. I can't say that the events in the last year haven't traumatized me in some way, they have. BUt I also want to remember because I want to share the beauty that God has made from the ashes that covered our lives one year ago.

There is a beautiful passage from scripture in Isaiah 61 about how God wants to restore our broken hearts, bring us back to a place of peace when we are hurting, and comfort us in times of despair. So when I look back at our year and describe what we were experiencing and feeling, I hope that I am showing you how God has done all of those things for our family.

Having a child diagnosed with a disease that is more often deadly than survivable is the scariest thing that has ever happened to me. But seeing the beauty God has created in our lives since that day is the most remarkable thing that I've ever experienced. We all have a new appreciation for life, a stronger connection to God and each other, and certainly a powerful story to tell.

Isaiah 61:3
To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”