Children are a Gift

I was thinking of what a gift Dominic is when a song that a friend had wrote came to mind:

"Children are a gift from the Lord

Fruit of the womb it is a reward

Like arrows in the hand of the warrior

Happy the man who's quiver is full

God has blessed me with you..."    Doug Barry, Radix

Lo, kchildren are an heritage of the Lord:

                                                 And lthe fruit of the womb is his reward.

                                                  Psalm 127:3

The second definition of heritage is:

her·it·age/ˈheritij/

Noun:

Property that is or may be inherited; an inheritance. Valued objects and qualities such as cultural traditions, unspoiled countryside, and historic buildings that have been passed down from... So I was thinking about those words, gift, valued object, and reward and all of those things are given out of LOVE.  God has given Dominic to us out of his great LOVE.  I started to think even more about the idea of gifts and realized, we were not only given a gift, but a rare gift.  Rare gifts are treasured!  What Dominic has done for us spiritually and on a human level is part of God's perfect plan for our family. When we first saw the ultrasound of our child and heard he was a boy we were filled with joy.  That joy quickly turned to fear and sadness as we were told that he may not live past a couple of hours and if he did, that he would most likely be severly  handicapped.  Our gift at that time was only a diagnosis that was scary and unknown.  We had no idea if he would live, we had no idea how he would look, we did not know how well he would function.  At the same time that we were worrying about what was to come, we were not able to see the great joy we would experience from this gift.  We were not able to see the sweet Dominic smiles, the fun giggles, or the affection he would show our family.  We were not able to see this, because the gift had not been opened yet.  I often wonder if I would change things if I could.  I have thought that if I could I would hope that my son would not have to suffer, and yet it is precisely this mystery of suffering that bears so much fruit.  So, in the end, the answer is no.  The answer is no because I don't want to change this perfect gift that God has given us.  He made him especially for us and for a very special purpose.  I wish I could send this message out to each couple that hears a scary and unknown diagnosis for their child.  Your child is a gift that is not open yet.  Have faith that this gift is given out of LOVE!  Look forward to discovering what that gift has in store for your family and if your gift happens to be rare, know that they are precious treasures!

Pictures of Dominic at his OT therapy.  I am eternally grateful for the therapists he sees at New Berlin Therapies.  They have been my greatest support in so many ways since Dominic has been born and they help me celebrate all of his victories!  You can tell Dominic loves them too!  Unfortunately I only got one therapist in pictures so far, I hope to get the others after we get back from Boston and start up again!

We have been doing a lot of pictures and video of Dominic before his surgery.  We will be looking forward to hearing his giggle and seeing his smile again!