Sweet Life With Boys: Who He Is

I love Holy Week. It often annoys me that life is still in full swing and I feel like I never get to just sit and meditate on what Jesus did on the cross for us and then the miracle of His Resurrection. This week we still have school, soccer games, swim practices, gymnastics, etc.. so I decided to dedicate this week on our blog to focusing on what Jesus truly means to me.

Today I am going to focus on his grace and peace. Those words are so hard to pin down and put in a box, but I am going to share a time that I truly FELT those precious things from Him.

July 5, 2004 started very early for me with whopper-sized contractions coming very quickly and we lived about 40 minutes from the hospital. After a whirlwind of activity this precious baby boy literally tumbled into the world just a few short hours later. The doctor barely had time to "catch" him he came so quickly and he stole our heart. We named him David because frankly that was the only named we both agreed with:)

Several hours later after a photo op with big brother, Mike left the hospital to take Kyle and my father back to our house for the night. My Mom stayed with me and David. We just thought he was so gorgeous but tiny. About that time a doctor came in and unceremoniously shared with me (Mike was still not back yet) that she needed to share with us some news about our baby because he is showing signs of having Down Syndrome.

My first words to her were "is he going to die?" She then stared at me and said absolutely not that he was actually doing well but would have this disability. I then said "well, God made him and made him just for us, so okay."

That my friends, is the Lord's grace and peace. Looking back on my reaction and later Mike's reaction when I had to tell him over the phone we now can see that God's grace and peace were with us that day-so much so that it was palpable. I look back on that day as a perfect day-I witnessed the birth of my second son, and felt the Lord's peace in a way I have not felt since. What more could you want?? Some might have looked at that day as devastating because of the diagnosis we received, but we look at it as a gift.

Before you start thinking that Mike and I are super religious saints that have it all figured out, that is once again where God's grace and peace step in. Our reactions are nothing short of His grace. Believe me, later in the hospital room when it was just us and our precious baby, we dealt with the big and difficult questions and raw emotions between the two of us. We constantly felt His reassurance along the way. What we DID know in those difficult hours was that God gave us this baby, he makes no mistakes, and that we will cling to him for the next step. Thankfully God's grace and peace have helped us take each and every step as we parent this wild child straight from heaven.

I am so thankful for David but also for the gift that he gave us on his birth day. We felt the grace and peace of our God so strongly that day. When situations feel overwhelming and I feel like I am spinning out of control, I remember that day so clearly in my mind. If God granted us his grace and peace that day, then he will offer it anytime we need it.

This is truly one of my favorite songs. As you can tell, I am on a Chris Tomlin kick right now:) It is a twist of the old school Amazing Grace that I grew up singing in church with a contemporary flair. It is awesome:)

Here is a picture taken moments after David's big arrival. I was told later that these two precious nurses were the ones that "spotted" DS right away during this initial exam.