Thankful Thursday: Just for this Once
Our hydranencephaly community of
families has been wading the dreaded season of colds, flus, and
respiratory infections. For our children, who are already teetering on
the edge of life here on earth simply because of their primary
diagnosis, this time of year is especially difficult. Life is fragile...
and sadly we all experience the fragility of it personally each time
another little bee earns their angel wings. We all feel the pain of one
loss, never mind the fact that they come in clusters and leave parents
reeling with sadness and fear... those who are able to cuddle their
child for another day find little solace as they share in the grief of
another whose arms are empty. We all learn to appreciate every second of
every minute of every day... we value those moments that others take
for granted. What a blessed way to live... something to be thankful for
when the world turns grim around us.
I've had the following passage saved in a
digital post-it note on my laptop for a long while and read it often...
trying to live by it. I hope you all will try as well and be thankful
for those moments that some of us can only hold as memories.
Just This Once
This is a reminder to hold those we
love close and make the time for them. Whether it's our children,
parents, or spouse... the meaning is the same.
Just for this morning, I am going to step over the laundry and pick you up and take you to the park to play.
Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes in the sink, and let you teach me how to put that puzzle of yours together.
Just for this afternoon, I will
unplug the telephone and keep the computer off, and sit with you in the
backyard and blow bubbles.
Just for this afternoon, I will not
yell once, not even a tiny grumble, when you scream and whine for the
ice cream truck, and I will buy you one if he comes by.
Just for this afternoon, I won't
worry about what you are going to be when you grow up, or second guess
every decision I have made where you are concerned.
Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me bake cookies, and I won't stand over you trying to fix them.
Just for this evening, I will hold you in my arms and tell you a story about how you were born and how much I love you.
Just for this evening, I will let you splash in the tub and not get angry.
Just for this evening, I will let you stay up late while we sit on the porch and count all the stars.
Just for this evening, I will snuggle beside you for hours,and miss my favorite TV shows.
Just for this evening when I run my
finger through your hair as you pray, I will simply be grateful that God
has given me the greatest gift ever given.
I will think about the mothers And
fathers who are searching for their missing children, the mothers and
fathers who are visiting their children's graves instead of their
bedrooms, and mothers and fathers who are in hospital rooms watching
their children suffer senselessly, and screaming inside that they can't
handle it anymore.
And when I kiss you good night I will
hold you a little tighter, a little longer. It is then, that I will
thank God for you, and ask him for nothing, except one more day...
