Sunday, January 14, 2018

Looking back and moving forward

As 2017 ends and we head into 2018- I do what so many do- and look back on the past year.  Last holiday season found us with a newly adopted Martina, a SUPER clingy Simon, and unmet expectations.

Timmy and I really thought we had no expectations upon adopting Martina- we talked about all the possibilities prior to bringing her home- and decided lets not expect anything.  But when the orphanage worker placed a skinny, drugged, infant like two year old in my arms- my eyes flew to my husband's- and it was clear- we weren't expecting this.  

Christmas last year ended in bitter tears as we had to let go of all the expectations, we didn't realize we had, for our new wonderfully made daughter.  

In a world that places such high importance on intelligence- whether it is a free movie rental for every A on a report card, the "gifted" program, or different color cords on graduation robes- we, perhaps unintentionally, but nevertheless, enforce the idea that our worth and our academic achievements are one and the same. 

Education is a gift, one that we here in the USA are blessed with.  The problem isn't that we find value in education BUT rather that we find OUR value in it. (Just to be clear)

Martina has an under developed brain and untreated hydrocephalus.  I say untreated because a shunt was never placed to drain the fluid.  We have seen a neurosurgeon at Children's and surgery will not be beneficial to Teeny at this point.  Martina also has nystagmus and very little if any vision in her right eye.

She came from a hard place.  She had very limited interactions from birth to 2 1/2 years.  It is impossible to tell where neglect and disability meet.  Will she talk?  We don't know.  And from there are hundreds of other, will she...fill in the blank.. questions.  And though the questions are varied- the answer is the same- we don't know.

So each day we work with Martina on many things- getting from a kneel to a stand, tolerating different foods, holding a spoon, simple signs...etc.  

Does she have value? worth?   Martina is immeasurably valuable.  Created individually, specifically, carefully drawn in the image of God.

Unfortunately not everyone sees her value- her birth country couldn't see it. Instead they measured her against typical children and found her lacking.  She was assigned a crib and minimally fed a convenient liquid diet.

This last summer, when we were at the pool, I heard two young boys call Martina stupid.  She was having a super happy moment and cracking herself up while floating in her baby boat in the baby pool.  The boys were splashing in the water and she loved the sound.  They saw her joy and seeing that she was not expressing herself in a typical way- called her stupid.

So this year I have taken time to talk to my kids about what really matters.  Some of what I tell them is contrary to what they are taught at school or in the world in general.  O well.

In the past year I have watched Dexter, Bea, and even Simon (it just took him a little longer!)  choose to love Martina.  And I have seen Martina's love for her brothers and sister.  It's not a small thing to love, so I thought it worth mentioning.

Dexter has begun to love reading and it is the sweetest thing to watch him read stories to Simon.  Bea takes care of her siblings like you wouldn't believe- she is my biggest helper.  And Simon is refusing to potty train- but he is O so cute and he loves to snuggle!  Martina is learning to "like" to walk and beginning to use more sounds when she babbles.  

Martina gave us a scare several weeks ago when we went to get her up from nap and found her covered in vomit, breathing erratically, and unresponsive to our words or touch.  She had a grand mal seizure (generalized tonic-clonic seizure).  She continued to seize the entire ambulance ride and for an additional thirty minutes or so at the hospital while they tried to place an iv to give her medicine to stop the seizure.  The next several days were incredibly difficult as we waited for Martina to recover.  When she woke up late in the afternoon the next day- she had no muscle control (which wasn't unexpected) but as the day wore on she began to rage.  She couldn't sit without immediately falling over and though her eyes were open she wasn't present with us.  For the next 15 hrs or so- we were left to wonder if this was a reaction to the medicine they had to give her- or if the seizure had caused temporary or permanent damage.  Her Dr really didn't think it was the medicine- so as I drove back and forth between the hospital and my parents' house I was left wondering- if it came to it- how was I going to bring Teeny home like this?  She had come so far in a year...and now it felt like all of that progress was gone.  I felt like life had just settled...and now this.  I felt like, "Hey God!  She has SO much that she has to work through...why more?" 

I wondered how was I going to handle explaining to her brothers and sister that she was different now.  O how they would miss the Teeny girl that they knew.  I asked myself, was it ok to grieve the loss of somebody who was still there?  When I got to my parents I was greeted by three happy to see me kiddos.  And Dexter's first question was how was Martina.  

While I was away another Dr. decided to switch Martina's medicine and from that point on she began to improve.  She is now home, back to herself- perhaps just a little sleepier as she adjusts to her seizure meds.

 There was a moment in the hospital when I had to seriously confront the question... If this doesn't get better, is God still good?  Is He still faithful?  Will I still be joyful?  Yes. Yes. Yes.

Christmas this year was very different than last.  It ended with Timmy and I standing outside Teeny's room listening to her laugh hysterically as she watched her new night light project spinning stars on her bedroom walls.  Life is so busy that so often the gradual changes in Teeny go- not unnoticed- but unawed (ahha I don't think that's a word!  But unappreciated just wasn't what I meant!)
It was a rare moment of calm, in our crazy house, on Christmas night, where we stood outside Martina's door in awe of what happened that past year.  She is a different girl than she was and we are different parents than we were.

This next year will, no doubt, have it's share of craziness!

As we open our home and hearts to our new son "Roman"- we know we are opening to new trials and new heartache- because loving the broken, breaks us.

So let it

Break our definition of success.
Break us of our pride
Break us til we're uncomfortable

I want it to
Break away everything that makes me feel safe, secure, whole- that isn't Jesus.

Bit by bit, I want the hold this world has on me, and the death grip I have on it, to break.  I want to free fall into the arms of Jesus.

This year I want to revel in the freedom that only complete surrender can bring.  2018 goals.