So Thankful Thursday - Karen Edition

 As any Mom knows, there are ups and downs to parenting your little ones.  Sometimes the world is golden and the sky is the limit and sometimes you look at your little one with so much trepidation and wonder what the future holds.  This is true for any parent and I think especially true for parents of little ones with challenges.

I struggle daily with letting go of my worry for Karen and trusting God.  I struggle with focusing on the present and her beautiful, silly, joyful personality and letting go of wondering what challenges might hurt her in the future.  I struggle with not comparing her to other kids her age or even Megan and just seeing her for the child she is at this moment.  I struggle with not getting frustrated at not being able to understand her and remembering to feel blessed by the number of words she does use to communicate (and that I do understand) that she didn't have several months ago.

I struggle... that sentence could go on, and on, and on... the key that I've been trying to remind myself of is that it really is not about "I"... it is about her and the fact that she is exactly how God made her.

... exactly how God made her... really?!  Wow!! 

How blessed am I then that he entrusted this beautiful little girl to me and how much harder I need to make sure I work to remember that!  When looked at from that perspective, it is easy to see the blessings and graces that He has brought into our lives to ease this journey.  Just to name a few:

1. Karen's future kindergarten teacher (the one she will have next year!) chose to go to a conference on Apraxia this summer so she could understand Karen's condition and be better equipped to teach her!!
2. While at the conference, several of the speakers referenced Dr. Amy Meredith... Dr. Amy is the SLP that oversees Karen's twice a week sessions in Spokane!
3. Dr. Amy hand picked the student therapist that Karen is working with and so far Karen LOVES her... She is responding so well and working so hard!
4. Karen's SLP that she works with through the school chose to come to several of her sessions in Spokane so there would be continuity between what they are working on and what she does. 
5. This SLP has also established communication with Dr. Amy and is working on her own time to learn some of the resources that Dr. Amy recommends for Apraxia since she is not familiar with them. 
6. I've read enough blogs to know that the above 5 items are not typical experiences.

So that's what I'm thankful for on this beautiful Thursday.  What about you? 

O Lord, we give you thanks for having given us children. They are our joy, and we accept with serenity the worries, fears, and labors which bring us pain. Help us to love them sincerely. Through us you gave life to them; from eternity you knew them and loved them. Give us the wisdom to guide them, patience to teach them, vigilance to accustom them to the good through our example. Support our love so that we may receive them back when they have strayed and make them good. It is often so difficult to understand them, to be as they would want us to be, to help them go on their way. Grant that they may always see our home as a haven in their time of need. Teach us and help us, O good Father, through the merits of Jesus, your Son and our Lord. Amen.