That was 2 years ago TODAY!

I still weep when I think about this moment, and some of the tears are still pain from my desire for Brody to not have ever had to experience any of this, but the majority of the emotion I feel today comes from the overwhelming joy I feel for this amazing little boy’s life.

I will always be thankful for the doctors who performed this life saving surgery on my baby. I am eternally thankful for you all, whether you sat with us through the surgery, came to visit, called, sent gifts, messages, love, prayers…prayers. I often wonder if this hadn’t happened, would I have ever TRULY understood the power prayer can have. Would I have ever actually FELT how the prayers of SO MANY others affected me and my family? I am so blessed that THIS is my life. I am so thankful that I was given this beautiful little soul, who has taught me more about life, love, prayer, and what trusting God is really like, than I had ever experienced before I held him in my arms.

I will never be perfect, but I have learned so much the past 2 years about SO MANY THINGS. My heart is still being chiseled to what will hopefully be a much better version of what it is today (which is much better than it was before;), and I still get angry, sad, frustrated often, when I shouldn’t. I am still learning to find JOY in every moment. It is easy to find the joy in this little boy’s life, and his precious brother’s life, but the everyday things that irritate me are a little harder. Sadly, those are things that really don’t matter at all. But what a selfish attitude to have. God is good, every moment…it is me who fails to see and acknowledge the good in the little stresses of life. But I am still learning so much from the pain and joy of the past few years.

TRUST GOD FOR EVERYTHING!
PRAISE GOD FOR EVERY MOMENT!
Never fail to acknowledge that HE is in control and HE knows so, SO much better than you (I) do.
PRAY!
READ YOUR BIBLE!
LOVE! By all means, love. Love God, love your family, love those you don’t even know. But when God says love, He doesn’t mean just sit in your home and think, “I love people” He means for us to show it, and to honor Him through it. For those of you who find this super hard to constantly do…you are not alone.
But we have to get there, we have to love, and maybe it just starts with being kind or truly praying for someone else on a regular basis. But…we have to get there.
We will NEVER be perfect while we are on this earth, but we have to constantly be trying to honor God in every moment.

You all know that I could go ON AND ON AND ON AND…but…what I have really learned more than anything, it is that I need to love more, the way Christ loves me. The way you all LOVED me and my family enough to pray so diligently and offer so much of yourselves over the last 2 years. The way God loves my child even more than I could ever imagine, and the GOOD that He wants to come from this beautiful little life that He gave me to raise and care for.

I didn’t realize how fortunate I was when I married my husband, and the amazing children that God would trust to our lives. It baffles me at times to think about how fortunate we are.

PRAISE GOD. TRUST GOD. LOVE GOD. LOVE OTHERS. There is so much bad in the world, we MUST be the good…the good that shows the world how GOOD our GOD is!  (Yes, I know I have a lot of work to do still!) And so many of you have lived that “good” in your love for my little boy and our family!

How blessed I am to also have been given such beautiful, daily reminders of how great our God is…