Life Is Precious

The past few days, Brian and I have taken turns being homesick. (At least we don't both seem to be homesick on the same days.) We have been here for almost a month. I counted the days today and can't believe it has been that long. We are definitely on the downhill now, but 3 more weeks before we get home seems like an eternity. I had to give myself a reality check this afternoon, though. We are here on a mission trip. We were called by God to come and save Quinton's life and every day we are here is worth every bit of homesickness and frustration we are feeling here lately. This post is mostly a pep talk to myself, but please read it and see if you can't take something from it too.

When you find yourself feeling sorry for your present circumstance, remember that life is precious. Two days ago I woke up and started my morning routine of checking facebook and reading blog comments (This might sound silly, but reading your comments is a nice way to start off my day. It really does make my day). I was casually reading people's status updates and I read one that caught me completely off guard. A very good friend of mine had suffered a debilitating stroke. She was in the hospital and the doctor's had not given her family much hope. My heart sank. This woman is a saint. She is selfless and kind hearted and works so hard. She and her family were missionaries to Argentina and the Dominican Republic until their youngest son was diagnosed with autism. In order for him to get the therapies he needed, they had to leave their mission work and move back to the United States. This family put their whole heart into serving God and His people. They loved their mission work, but selflessly gave it up for their son. They did not quit there though. They began working with the hispanic population in Charlotte and Kannapolis and now continue their mission work in a new way. J (I will call her J until I get permission to use her name) devotes her time now to running children's programs at her church and translating and assisting spanish speaking families whose children are being screened for/diagnosed with autism for the first time and can't understand the language. She does not only act as an interpreter. She does her work with a servant's heart. She remembers how it felt when she found out her son had autism and has first hand experience to help these families through such hard times. Sorry that was a bit long winded, but I thought some background information would be helpful.

Anyway-her family was told that if she survived, she would suffer both physical and brain damage. Immediately, her friends and family started praying. They prayed for complete healing for her. God would have been so blessed to receive such a wonderful woman into heaven, but He had mercy on us here on Earth and allowed us to keep her for a while longer. (hopefully a long while :)

Her family and friends were shaken by all of this and knocked to their knees. J's life is so precious to me and I am so grateful that I will get to come home and share my new precious life with her too. In case you are wondering, J is a walking, talking miracle. Her stroke was only days ago and already she has been sent home from the hospital. She was not expected to live, then she was expected to have irreparable damage, and now she is home and does not require any therapies. She just needs to take it easy and recover.

I know that many of you have lost loved ones recently and I cannot imagine the heartache you are feeling. I do know though that the feeling that I had when I thought that J was not going to make it was a feeling that no one should have to feel. On the other hand, I have experienced life and its preciousness in a whole other light while being here. Quinton is a precious life that was going to waste away if he did not find a family. I have loved his picture since last October and now I love his life with all my heart. Just remember that no matter what the circumstances are, life is precious. Everyone's life is precious. Give your friends and family an extra squeeze today and let them know that you love them. To my friends and family: I love you guys so much!

Here are some pictures from today-Life is precious!

Remember those earlier videos where all we had to do was call him and he came to us? Not so much anymore. He is a little more high maintenance now. When we call him he just looks at us and lays there like "you're crazy. If you want me, come pick me up." If you break out the iphone and start the baby rattle app, that's another story. Motivation-it's all about the motivation :)

Countdown to Gotcha Day: 11 days