Last week Clay's cousin - Jennifer - had a precious baby boy named Eli. She and her husband have 2 girls, and are thrilled to have a boy. Shortly after he was born they got the shocking news that he has Down Syndrome. Please pray for this sweet family and the struggles they face ahead as they seek God's wisdom in how to best raise their son. When I found out, I kept thinking about Psalm 139:14 - part of it reads, "I am wonderfully made." Our dear friend Meredith put this verse on a sign that we hung over Ethan's bed in the NICU (Mer - I will never forget that, and I'm getting all weepy just thinking about it). I just keep thinking that while Eli has an imperfect body, he is God's perfect gift to Brandon and Jennifer and he is wonderfully made. I obviously don't know the challenges that face parents of physically or mentally handicapped children, but I'm sure it's overwhelming on a daily basis. Ethan's NICU sign inspired me to make this onesie for Eli...I also put his name on the back and hope they can overlook how crooked it is. Oops!
5.16.2008
Psalm 139:14
Last week Clay's cousin - Jennifer - had a precious baby boy named Eli. She and her husband have 2 girls, and are thrilled to have a boy. Shortly after he was born they got the shocking news that he has Down Syndrome. Please pray for this sweet family and the struggles they face ahead as they seek God's wisdom in how to best raise their son. When I found out, I kept thinking about Psalm 139:14 - part of it reads, "I am wonderfully made." Our dear friend Meredith put this verse on a sign that we hung over Ethan's bed in the NICU (Mer - I will never forget that, and I'm getting all weepy just thinking about it). I just keep thinking that while Eli has an imperfect body, he is God's perfect gift to Brandon and Jennifer and he is wonderfully made. I obviously don't know the challenges that face parents of physically or mentally handicapped children, but I'm sure it's overwhelming on a daily basis. Ethan's NICU sign inspired me to make this onesie for Eli...I also put his name on the back and hope they can overlook how crooked it is. Oops!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
One of my favorite verses of all time. It reminds me that God makes no mistakes--everything is exactly as he intends it to be and although we don't often understand, we can rest in the knowledge that we are wonderfully made, in the image of our Creator.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post about Eli. We knew people were praying, but this is the first time I have seen this. I love that onesie. We had his picture in it, and it sits on the chest in his room. The one thing I can say about having a child with special needs is that it is an awesome opportunity. We have met so many people just because Eli has down syndrome. Many of these people don't know Christ. What an amazing opportunity for us to be amazed at what God does in Eli's life and also share Christ with these other families. God is good and Eli is our perfect little boy. We love him with all our heart and he is just like any other baby.
ReplyDeleteHe rolled over at 7 weeks, which he was not supposed to do until about 6 - 8 months. He beat his sisters on that one. There are so many things that he is supposed to do and not supposed to do yet. We have found ourselves ignoring those charts and just working with him on the next thing coming.
He has amazed us already. When TEIS(Tenn Early Intervention system) came to evaluate Eli, he did very well. In fact he scored so high on all the developmental catagories that he would not qualify for their program without his diagnosed condition of Down Syndrome. We attend Special Kids and Families which is a class for special needs children from birth to 3 years of age. Other families bring their SN kids and we have classes where we learn how to work and help our babies accomplish their milestones and all the things they need for their develpment. It is amazing what early intervention can do for a child. We also have a therapist that comes to our house twice a month. She works with Eli on things like tracking toy and following sounds. She also sees how well he is using his muscles. So far he is right on track with everything. Praise the Lord:)