31 for 21: Day 21 We Are Better Because of Wyatt...

one thing that i have heard (and seen) over and over, is the insight that we (and many other parents/families) are better people because God chose to give us wyatt!   do i believe that God gave him to us specifically, for a reason, you bet!   "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."  (jeremiah 29:11)   i believe that every word in Scripture is true, and if i believe that, then i believe that God has a plan for each of our lives.  certainly sin in the world affects us, but i KNOW that God desires only great things for us!  




does that include having a child with a special need like Down syndrome?  absolutely!   would i have said that a little over 2 years ago....yes, but i would not have known what that good and perfect plan might be.

i know that i have seen changes in the men in our family; specifically tim and ethan, a tenderness that i had not seen before.   especially with ethan, the big brother who was 16 when wyatt was born!   to see him get down on the floor and play with our little guy is a beautiful thing!   forrest, who was 8 when wyatt was born, has grown in maturity as the "big" brother to wyatt.  he plays with wyatt, works with him, and encourages him!  i know that they will be great friends as they grow up together. 

tim and i have grown together through the experience of having wyatt.  he is our surprise, "bonus baby" blessing from God!    our marriage has been strengthened through everything that we have faced with wyatt....from his diagnosis, to his open heart surgery, to the daily therapies that we implement with him.   we need each other and we draw strength from each other as we face the challenges and joys of each day! 

i know, as i have said before, that i have developed a compassion that i did not have before for people who are different.  whether that difference is a physical or mental disability, a terminal illness, homelessness, divorce, or so many other life experiences that we have not have experienced before.  i have become the mom who tolerates a messy boy as he learns to feed himself, the mom who lets her toddler play in the rain....because he will play in the rain!   i am a much more relaxed mom in many ways.....and i am thankful that God is growing me through the life of our little man!

God is good.....  all the time....all the time.....God is GOOD!!!