Challenges

We are all given challenges in our life and we wonder why they were given to us. Were they given to us because someone thinks we can handle them? Were they given to us because we did something wrong? We will never know the answeres to these questions but we will take these challenges and deal with them the best way we know how.

Gary's cousin who is giving, generous and one of the most kind hearted people I know was given the challenge of a lifetime. Kim was drinving into work on a icy morning and was in a single car accident. She layed there for 45 minutes thinking she was dying and that her body was split in two. Once the ambulance arrived she soon realized that was all intact and only had a small amount of blood on her hand. However she still could not move. Once at the hospital she found out that she broke her neck and she is now paralized from the chest down. That moring she was able to walk, feed herself, drive a car, dial a phone without a second thought but now her life will never be that easy, it will be filled with challenges. I went to visit her last week and the first words out her mouth were "How are you doing?" I was taken a back by that. Her attitude was enough to blow me away, she was so upbeat about her life and the challenges ahead of her. She did not lay in that bed and feel sorry for herself like most. Kim is dealing with her challenge the best way she knows how.

The day that Grady died most of the nurses in the NICU were amazed that Gary and I came back that night to see Levi. I never gave it a second thought, Levi needed us and I still had another son to take care of. My challenge was to grieve for my lost children but yet carry on and focus on bringing Levi home. I never thought about what was the right thing to do or the wrong thing to do I just did it. I am dealing with my challenges the best way I know how.

I believe that I was given these challenges to make me a stronger person, make my marriage stronger and maybe someday reach out to a mom or a dad that will have to grieve the loss of a child and help them understand that they need to take their challenge and deal with it the best way they know how.

I think that is all we are asked to do.