Grace-Filled Waters February 12
Hello to Everybody
As you’ve all had some time to digest the news of the research, David and I continue to grow in faith and optimism and in the realization that ANYTHING is possible. I looked up into the blue sky this afternoon and watched a jet zooming across the sky and actually marveled for a moment how incredible that it was to see an aircraft in the sky…something we see everyday and take for granted that over 100 years ago, people couldn’t even conceive of humans being able to fly!!! I was sitting in church today, still adjusting to my recent change in thoughts about Grace’s future and the future of my family and realized how unpredictable my life has been particularly over the past year, from my 911 “code red” accident when I was pregnant with Lily about 1 year ago, to the birth of a baby, the probing and testing of Grace, the fears about Grace, Ben starting Kindergarten behind my back, then the loss of Grace’s future with her diagnosis and the loss of life as we knew it in the Reddington household, to the enormous outpouring of support and then to regain a glimmer of hope that Grace may have a better future!! Wow, I know I just broke a major rule in run on sentences, but this is my life!! The image that came to me was a river and the ever changing course of unpredictable and unknown waters. Calm waters can quickly turn to rapids and there are curves and bends throughout. I’ve never been “rafting” but I’ve canoed plenty (through baby rapids) and certainly seen rafting adventures on TV enough to know how it works and how dangerous and intimidating it can be to novices. I realized that my life, particularly during the past year, has been like riding on the rapids with little (very little) moments of still water to catch my breath. What I also realized is that I have not capsized and that God has been in the boat with me the whole time. He’s not doing the paddling, that’s my job, but He’s there in the boat with me giving me strength and guidance and reassurance that if I follow the rapids knowing and trusting that He is with me, then I will someday arrive safely at the river bank. Just when I think I know what’s coming next, there’s a change in the course of my life. It is the way of life. We cannot control what is uncontrollable but we can learn to embrace what is thrown our way and face it head on. I’ve said and felt from the beginning that David and I and our family “can do this” and we can and we will ride these rapids for Grace and for the knowledge that we will indeed arrive safely at the riverbank someday. Many of you are in this boat with us and it certainly is a BIG boat so thank you for riding along. You take the risk of getting splashed along with us but its so worth it. She’s so worth it…worth every minute. Grace will be waiting for us on the riverbank when we get there wherever and whenever that may be. (more…)