Life has a way of draining a Mommy and Daddy. Say a prayer for us if you think of it. It's been a very difficult 6 months, and it seems to be catching up with us...emotionally and physically.
 |
| Pre-children vacation in Scotland. I'd love to relive this time- just for a week. |
I'm dreaming of a vacation from life (with my precious baby in my arms, of course!). A place to go to think, rest, pray, process everything, and have some really good cries. Followed by a glass of red and a good massage. A girl can dream!
 |
| The Isle of Arran in Scotland is the perfect place to quietly process and pray |
I take you back some day honey....
ReplyDeleteIn Scotland they sing the psalms in church every week. This one is a great one to sing on the Isle of Arran!
ReplyDeletePsalm 121 from the Scottish Psaltery
1 I to the hills will lift mine eyes,
from whence doth come mine aid?
2My safety cometh from the Lord,
who heav’n and earth hath made.
3Thy foot he’ll not let slide, nor will
he slumber that thee keeps.
4Behold, he that keeps Israel,
he slumbers not, nor sleeps.
5The Lord thee keeps, the Lord thy shade
on thy right hand doth stay:
6The moon by night thee shall not smite,
nor yet the sun by day.
7The Lord shall keep thy soul; he shall
preserve thee from all ill.
8Henceforth thy going out and in
God keep for ever will.
~ Isabel
Amen, sister. You deserve it! We are praying for Jimmy and for your family as well - continually. Hugs from the Kinkels.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry this journey is so hard. We were so wiped out from the stress of 4 months of bed rest, and your journey has been so much more intense than that, even. :( We're praying for you all. You are on my heart so often. I'm looking forward to watching D & K when we get back, and I can't wait to stop at the hospital to see Jimmy, too. Love you!
ReplyDeleteps - I'm glad you have such amazing memories from your times in Scotland! You definitely need to go back someday. :) (I love those pictures!)
ReplyDeleteSomeone sent this to me when I had Madi, and even though Jimmy doesn't have a disability, I thought it was fitting, since you are still in a very different place than you imagined :)
ReplyDeleteWelcome To Holland
by
Emily Perl Kingsley
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It’s just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.
The days do get easier, and before you know it, you will be able to go back to Scotland. We will keep you in our prayers!!