What it Means to Be Loved

As I mentioned before, God uses music in my life. And, this song is one more example. While I don't think that I would have ever listened to Mark Schultz before (despite the fact that he's a Lambda Chi alum at K-State...like Brandon), this song and the story behind it might change that.   His wife had worked with a woman at a hospital who had recently been told her baby wouldn't live past a year.  She had been advised to terminate, but instead she had decided to love the baby as long as she could.

Schultz writes this: 

Inspired by this family’s story, my wife continued to look at the implications for our own family. She said, “Since you’re adopted I think we should adopt kids too.” I said, “Ok that’s fine.” She said, “I think we should adopt kids maybe with special needs.” And I said, “Ok, that seems like a tall order.” She continued, “Maybe someday we adopt kids with special needs that the doctor only knows they’re going to live for a year or two.” I responded, “Honey, why would we do that?” And my wife said, “Because before they go to heaven, I want them to know what a great Christmas is like and I want them to know what a great birthday is like and let them know that they were loved well before they get to heaven and realize that love. I want them to know that they were loved here on earth and celebrate them here.”



When I hear this story, I think of my friend who told me yesterday that she and her husband are wanting to adopt possibly two children with special needs...inviting suffering into their lives in order to experience God's love more fully and live out that love for his children. 

When I hear this story, I think of our friends Liz and Matt whose baby was diagnosed with a chromosomal disorder while Liz was pregnant. Though they knew their baby wouldn't live much past birth, they chose to carry Hope anyway.  I envied the intimacy they were experiencing with God as they walked through it.  

When I hear this story, I think of my friend Sarah whose baby, Bowen, has HLHS. The left side of his heart is severely underdeveloped, and the condition is fatal without open heart surgery. I wrote about the songs her husband wrote for him in this post and this post.

When I hear this story, I think of my husband's aunt and uncle, who had two children with a very rare genetic disorder called Mucolipidosis type III that gave them only three years to live. To hear Laura talk about it with a heart full of faith in a good God brings tears to my eyes even now. 

God is so good.  

My friend, Holly, wrote this blog post recently

about a little girl with DS who really needed to be adopted.

Caleb and I prayed for her again yesterday.
Just now, I checked out the website again and saw that   

she now has a family!! 

God is so good.