This whole thing has brought tears to my eyes and Katjoe24, your post was awesome as well. I have never heard the blessing of a handicapped child put so beautifully.
my cousin had MS and his mother was a complete inspiration for me with my children....I don't know if you have ever seen this but I always think of my aunt when i see it
The Special Mom by Erma Bombeck, 1980
Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures and a couple by habit. This year, nearly 100,000 women will become mothers of handicapped children. Did you ever wonder how mothers of handicapped children are chosen? Somehow I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger.
"Armstrong, Beth, son, patron saint, Matthew. Forrest, Marjorie, daughter, patron saint, Cecilia. Rudledge, Carrie, twins, patron saint, give her Gerard. He's used to profanity."
Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a handicapped child."
The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."
"Exactly," says God. "Could I give a handicapped child to a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."
"But has she patience?" asks the angel.
"I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it. I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has his own world. She has to make it live in her world, and that's not going to be easy."
"But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."
God smiles. "No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness."
The angel gasps, "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"
God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a 'spoken word.' She will never consider a 'step' ordinary. When her child says 'Momma'* for the first time, she will be present at a miracle and know it! When she describes a tree or a sunset to her blind child, she will see it as few people ever see my creations."
"I will permit her to see clearly the things I see . . . ignorance, cruelty, prejudice . . . and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life, because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side."
"And what about her patron saint?" asks the angel, pen poised midair. God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."
Your beautiful analogy made me cry, too! Your elegant words have put it in simple terms we can all understand! Thank you for your heartfelt story. I am so glad you are getting to enjoy your trip to Holland, after all!
Oh my....your story made me cry...such a beautiful way to say things, so soft and clear, so much love and pain in it....your testimony is just precious!
This is a DT project for Swirlydoos using the awesome March French Quarter kit. Such a great versatile kit!
This layout is also for a challenge at Swirlydoos- the point is to scrap a male loved one.
I have seen a few layouts here on this site where mothers have used this essay by Erin Perl Kingsley about having a special needs child, and I've always wanted to do one too. The print is too small to read in the pic, but here is the essay:
When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum, the Sistine Chapel, Gondolas. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It’s all very exciting. After several months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, “Welcome to Holland!” “Holland?” you say. “What do you mean, Holland? I signed up for Italy. I’m supposed to be in Italy. All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy.” But there’s been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Holland and there you must stay. The important thing is that they haven’t taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place full of pestilence, famine, and disease. It’s just a different place. So, you must go out and buy new guidebooks. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. It’s just a different place. It’s slower paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you’ve been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around. You begin to notice that Holland has windmills. Holland has tulips. And Holland even has Rembrandts. But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy, and they’re all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life you will say, “Yes, that’s where I was supposed to go. That’s what I had planned.” And the pain of that experience will never, ever, ever, go away. The loss of that dream is a very significant loss. But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland.
Thanks for looking!
For more details, visit my blog: scrappingfancy.blogspot.com
Does this project or one of it's images contain pornography, profanity, or other illegal or offensive material? If so, please report it and our moderators will come by and clean it up in a flash.
April 03, 2012
April 02, 2012
April 02, 2012
April 01, 2012
March 30, 2012
March 30, 2012
March 30, 2012
March 30, 2012
March 29, 2012
March 29, 2012
March 29, 2012
March 29, 2012
March 29, 2012
March 29, 2012
March 29, 2012
March 29, 2012
March 29, 2012
March 29, 2012
March 29, 2012
March 29, 2012
March 29, 2012
March 28, 2012
March 28, 2012
March 28, 2012
March 28, 2012
March 28, 2012
March 28, 2012
March 28, 2012
March 28, 2012
March 28, 2012
March 28, 2012