To Bliss or Not to Bliss?

Turner Syndrome—named after Dr. Henry Turner, occurs in 1 out of 2,000 female births, linked to cause of 10% of miscarriages, genetic chromosomal condition, cause and prevention-unknown, short in stature, intelligent but struggle with math and science skills, low hairline, finger and toenails curve upwards, broad chest, swelling of hands/feet in infancy, webbed neck, ovarian failure, cardiac and kidney abnormalities, hypo-thyroid disorders, frequent ear infections, higher risk of celiac disease, vision impairment, and…well, that’s enough for now, don’t you think?

Hopeless…hardly. An inconvenience? At times. Fatal? Can be if you ignore it. A Curse? No, a disguised blessing. For you see…my sweet little real baby doll, Kellie, had Turner Syndrome.

She was so cute when she was a preschooler that one man in our church nicknamed her Cupie Doll because of her huge brown eyes and lack of hair. Another man named her Mug-Wamp, which had no meaning whatsoever other than he thought she was the cutest little Indian in the world…even though she was half Cuban. Kellie captivated everyone’s attention. Her stage was a shopping cart at Target as she entertained anyone that would watch her. Kellie was Shirley Temple all over again because of her ability to sing and dance before perfect strangers; completely uninhibited. Her style and giggle was contagious as I’d watch her force the biggest stone face to crack into a smile.

God allowed me the privilege to have someone like Kellie in my life. How did I get to be so blessed? For at times she taught me far more than I signed up for. Her diagnoses challenged me to learn about a syndrome I had never heard of. However, back in the mid-1980’s knowledge and support were not as accessible as it is today. We didn’t even know what an information highway was. So eventually my family decided to forget the hard facts. Ignorance seemed bliss. Acceptance was just too hard and complicated.  More next week…

Please take a moment to become familiar with the national society for Turner’s Syndrome through the web site below. Ignorance is not bliss. http://www.turnersyndrome.org/index.html

 “Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.” Proverbs 3:13-14

Life With Purpose

The bittersweet trip to our neighborhood elementary school came way too soon. What was once a private family nucleolus would now become collective as my tiny little girl entered the big doors of public school.  Gone would be the church preschool days of reminding my child, “Now, what would Jesus do?” Now I cried from the car window as I watched her little brown curls bounce with each step, “Mommy loves you and may the Lord be with you when I can’t be.”

Before this big day could occur we had to pass “our” first test…a Kindergarten well-child exam. I quickly made an appointment at Kelsey-Seybold Clinic. As the female doctor examined Kellie she nonchalantly asked, “Has Kellie ever had a chromosome test?” I shook my head no. She continued, “Well, it’s just a simple blood test.” Kellie’s dark brown eyes turned to me sharply to convey there was no way she would consent to this kind of test. I knew a simple trip to McDonalds on the way home would take care of her pain.

Within days I received a call that the doctor needed to talk to me. I arrived at her office and heard the diagnoses of something called Turner Syndrome. Only one word penetrated my ears; syndrome. I immediately zoned my thoughts towards other things as the doctor’s voice began to fade into nothingness. Devastated by the association of a syndrome with my perfectly healthy baby was more than I could handle by myself. I cried all the way home wondering what kind of future this would bring to my child. But, I knew whatever the future held…we would hold it together as we were held in His hands.

More about Turner next week…

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:13-16

Praise God that He never makes a mistake. Everything created by Him is for Him. Every human has a great purpose. Thank Him for making you just the way He designed you to be.

Practice Doesn't Always Make Perfect

What kind of dolls did you have when you were a child? I have my eyeball looking in my time tunnel and I see little glowing faces under the Christmas tree of Shirley Temple, Chatty Cathy, and Barbie standing in front of her dream house with Ken on the driveway positioned in their pink convertible. I’ve had dolls that talked, walked, cried, grew hair, took a bottle then wet her diaper. For hours I practiced on being a good mommy. Bet you did too.

What I didn’t anticipate was colic, high fever, ear infections, asthma, viruses, and a child that would one day stand up to me and say, “No”. Chatty Cathy only said things like, “Hi, my name is Cathy. What’s yours? Would you like to be my friend?”

My usual prenatal comment in restaurants would be, “My child will never act like that.” Listening to a screaming child who was throwing food was more than I could hack. “How dare those parents allow their children to behave so uncivilized. Do they think they’re the only ones here?”

Not long after those comments I sat in a Chinese restaurant with two babies in highchairs throwing fried rice in my hair. Lesson number one in parenthood—get rid of the word never. I tossed all my parental books and ran to the Lord with the realization there were no pat answers for the uniqueness of His creation; except for His very own words.

Kellie and Kyle were 17 months apart and one look at them was all it took for me to fall in love. Life has never (never in this context is acceptable) been the same since. Chucks of my heart were given as I placed my lips on their soft baby skin. Instantly I decided to give them my life should it ever become necessary; for them to live was more important than me to do so.

It is humbling to think God feels the same about us as He did give His life, His Son-Jesus, to show how deep His love is for us.

“Because you are his children, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” Galatians 4:6

Thank God for being your Abba, Daddy God today. He fell in love with you way before your parents did.

More Often

Have you made a list of resolutions for 2011? If you’re like me…you’ve been struggling with where to start or whether to even bother. Often we’ve made our list only to face defeat, but what is wrong with setting some goals? Nothing. The problem comes when you set unrealistic goals. Yes, I want to lose a few pounds, but more importantly I want to get healthy…so, here are my resolutions for the coming year.

I want to eat more often. You heard right! Every year I’ve wanted to eat more yet I deprived myself to less than a thousand calories per day and set a goal for jogging more than I even did in high school. Come on—let’s get real. If I didn’t run a marathon when I was in my early 20’s why would I ever expect to take on such a goal as a grandmother?

So, back to my resolutions, I want to eat six small meals a day. That is three meals with three snacks. Portion control, of course, but I also want to drink water more often. I want to allow God’s Word to soak in my heart more often and I want to sit still and listen to Him speak more often. Is that so bad? Where did we get the idea that being still and listening is passive and not active? I don’t know…I just know that we just don’t make the time to include God into our lives. Can you imagine a new year, with all the new challenges to come, if we made the Lord the Lord of them all? I’m ready for a different year…how about you?

God says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

Does it sink in that when you are still enough to hear God that the entire world could change? All it takes is one who causes a ripple effect.

Next week I will be shifting back to the question of transformation; is it painful or easy, and soon I will ask you to share your testimony as well. Be ready!