Going through all of these previously forgotten blog posts to find the material to write this story has been absolutely fascinating. Now that I know the outcome, reading my reflections as I walked through those times is amazing.
Why did I feel such a need to have an ultrasound, even though I am not an ultrasound-lover? Why did I have an instinctual knowledge that something was wrong? At the time, it was just confusing. But now, looking back, I very clearly see God's hand leading and guiding me through that time, working powerfully in our lives to produce great good.
And as I look back, I am profoundly grateful that our sweet baby was given to us. Why? For several reasons.
Firstly, because he is the light of our family - a true joy, and a treasure. We adore him.
Secondly, and I say this to our shame, our nation has become a nation in which non-perfect babies are frequently told, "You're not wanted here." Our nation's rate of abortion for our sweet babies with Downs Syndrome hovers somewhere around 90 percent, which is a tragedy and a disgrace. Our baby's problems are much, much more severe than Downs Syndrome, and I shudder to think of what might have happened had he been conceived in a family that would have tossed his precious life away had they discovered his problems prenatally.
I cannot state this strongly enough: Every baby is a gift. Every baby is a precious miracle. And whether a baby lives for a few seconds or many decades before he is called to eternity, that baby's care is a sacred stewardship from God. Our nation will be called to account for the way we currently are tossing aside 22 percent of our precious infants in abortion clinics because we don't want to be inconvenienced by unplanned births or babies with special needs (and that doesn't count all of those aborted through abortifacient birth control).
The message, again - every baby is precious.
Our little guy is with us for life. We will be carrying him, changing him, feeding him, looking after his every need - for life.
And that's just fine with us. The Lord has called us to a holy calling. And we are extremely grateful that He has trusted us with "one of the least of these." Our little guy is a child who will never grow up and move out, but will need help and love for as long as he is on earth. That doesn't change the fact that he is precious. He is not someone "who should never have been born" or someone who is a "burden on society." The measure of a society is how it cares for those who cannot care for themselves. Our baby is a miracle, and is much loved, and it will be our joy to provide for him, however long he lives.
As I've written lately, God is faithful. He is working mightily in our family. And this sweet baby is part of our journey.
We're so grateful for his sweet life.
In the next couple of installments, I will share how we created a medical notebook to stay organized while in the medical system, and also the conclusions I drew and lessons I learned through our experiences.
Click on Part 5 to keep reading!
Yes, agreed, all children are precious gifts!
ReplyDeleteIt has been eye opening as we had Mason and became involved in the Spina Bifida community. I'm part of an international forum and many months we have several families find the group and want to know what to do because they've learned their child will have SB. Most have scary stories of the medical professionals dire warnings of the hardship raising a child with SB would be, that the child would not really have a worthwhile life, and on and on. The abortion rate is over 60% when there is a diagnosis of SB, which is frightening. Many times the response when these families who are frightened and unsure of what to do see the pictures, posts, and videos of Mason and others like him is one of shock or surprise. They see a happy, smart child who happens to have a lot of medical needs. But you can see the joy in his face, and I hope in ours, that we are together.
Hi, Tristan!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you visited! You have so many awesome things to contribute with all of your experiences with your sweet Mason. I'm so glad you chimed in. You're absolutely right about the prenatal diagnosis situation. Many doctors just present a scare-tactics diagnosis, followed with a recommendation to abort. Those doctors who do so do not realize that they have blood on their hands when abortion-vulnerable families take their advice. How much better to say, "Your sweet baby has some health challenges, so let's discuss how we can meet those needs, and let me hook you up with some other families who have children with similar needs." How much better to do that, than to abuse their position of authority and power. And what those scare-tactics situations always ignore is the fact that regardless of health challenges, you will LOVE your baby - and that makes the challenges doable. And that's aside from all of the issues of life ethics and the sovereignty of God in creating babies with special needs!
Enough rambling! :) Thank you for chiming in!
Diana