The Author
I am a Pharmacist turned Stay-At-Home Mom, and mother of two children, ages five and one. I have been married to the love of my life for twelve wonderful years.
In The Life Of A Child
The blog title is a nod to a favorite quote by Forest E. Witcraft:
“A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove… But the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.”
Exactly what we hope to accomplish in the lives of our children. This quote hangs on a plaque in the NYC office of miracle-working surgeon, Dr. Milton Waner, who accomplished the impossible for our daughter. Our daughter was born with a rare birth defect called a lymphatic malformation and her four short years on the planet have been punctuated by a long series of miracles and answered prayers. The blog was started as a way to keep our ever-growing email address book updated on our family. It was becoming difficult, if not impossible to keep up with all of the e-mail updates. This blog allows me to easily keep in touch with those who care about us and also to reach out and share our lives with others. Life around our house is never boring - so stick around and be entertained on our tab!
My Testimony
I grew up in a Christian home, accepting Christ at the age of four. While never wavering in my faith, I had never really faced challenges of the faith-shaking variety until several years after I was married. Shortly after our fifth wedding anniversary, it became apparent that we might never be able to have children. I cannot begin to describe the grief and feelings of helplessness that go along with a diagnosis of infertility. We both struggled to come to grips with the bleakness of it.
Miscarriages and months of emotionally draining infertility treatment began taking its toll. Finally, I reached the end of myself and paused to reflect on my faith. Did I believe that God had a plan for my life or not? I had always wondered if I possessed the kind of faith that would stand up under adversity. Well did I? I decided that it was a good time to find out and began living what I said I believed, placing all my hopes and dreams for a family in God’s capable hands. I stopped demanding that God give us a child and started asking him to remove my discontentment and make me joyful in his plan for my life - whether it involved children or not.
A month later we were thrilled to learn that we were pregnant. Even more thrilled when we made it past the first trimester. Then the unthinkable happened. On a 20 week ultrasound, we learned that our baby had a large mass on her neck. I was devastated and began to panic over all of the inevitable “what if’s”. Then I remembered that God had a plan for our lives and that I had committed myself to trusting him. My husband and I recommitted our lives to fulfilling that purpose and promised each other that no matter what happened, we would use each experience to grow closer together in our marriage and stronger in our faith.
Looking back, I now understand a little of what all those years of infertility were about. It wasn’t God’s judgment on my life, but a training ground for my faith. Through that experience I learned how to remain strong and steadfast during life’s trials. It was experience that I needed and that I would call on again and again over the coming years. I believe that God knew that there needed to be a special little girl like ours in the world. And, for some reason, he felt that my husband and I were the right couple to parent such an exceptional child. He recently entrusted us with another extraordinary little person, our son, now on his way to turning two. When I remember to think of all that has happened in these terms, I no longer feel trapped or overwhelmed by circumstances. Instead, I see all of it for what it truly is - a blessing.
Each day I strive to live up to the incredible trust that God has placed in me to parent such amazing little lives. I have learned that faith is not something that I may or may not have enough of, or possess the right variety of. In the words of Max Lucado:
“Faith is simply the belief that God can do something, and the hope that he will.”
With that definition in mind, my faith has never been stronger.
Contact By Email
If you wish to contact me regarding questions about our experience with Lymphatic Malformations, Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome, or for any other reason, send an email to:
childlif (at) gmail (dot) com
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