Three years ago, I worked with a 2-year old who was struck suddenly with seizures. I saw him each week until he turned 3, because that's when the State mandates the switch to the public school system.
The daily seizures never stopped and I saw how tired his parents grew. I think about what it must be like to be those parents. To stay by the child's side throughout the night because you never knew when it would happen. To have tried to look for a cure or any possible relief and to find none. How it feels to see the child, once full of so much life, regress in his abilities and be muted because of constant medications and restrictive diets.
The memory of him and the patient, sacrificial love of his parents has never left me. When I found out how he was doing today, I got light-headed and had to lay down. As a 2.5-year old, he could label animals and colors. Today, he cannot talk at all. He was a child who loved running and sliding. Now he cannot move without a walker. He cannot dress, bathe, or feed himself.
When I worked with him, I'd be exhausted after an hour because he was one of those kids that would not sit. But if I knew that he wouldn't be able to run much longer, I would have run all the more with him. Life is short and we get blindsided by false comforts.
It is not natural for your child to pass before the parent, which is why I think I am mourning for the family knowing this possibility. Before one is a parent, one has hopes and dreams for what their child will become. With all this happening, I realize a parent really just wants the fullest life possible for their child.
I thank God they have a younger child and I pray he lives a natural life. I pray he brings them joy and love and hope. I wait for that day when God will come again and wipe away all tears. "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4) Come soon.
We need thee,
we need thee,
we need thee every hour.
we need thee,
we need thee every hour.
2 comments:
thanks for sharing this tiff. siiigh it's true, i don't even let the thought of the possibility of having a less than perfect kid get into my head. cuz that would be devastating... i can't imagine =/
my sister sent this to me last week. dunno if you've seen it already: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/opinion/sunday/notes-from-a-dragon-mom.html?_r=2&src=tp&smid=fb-share
Hey tiff, thanks for sharing. I agree...everything broken in the world, including myself...makes us long for His return. Let's continue to long for Him and pray for His return. What a hope we have! God forgive me for taking it for granted and help me live out that hope. Love ya!
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