Decisions, Decisions

As parents, we make lots of decisions for our children.  Some of them are small, and some of them are life-altering.  It has been weighing on me lately what a big responsibility this is.  God has blessed us with two (soon to be three!) precious children and it is our job to follow Him and to make decisions for our little ones.

We are facing some big decisions in the coming months and years about Nathan.  He was born with Microtia, and his outer ears did not form correctly before he was born.  He also has some hearing loss associated with this, because his ear canals are really narrow.

We are blessed to live in a country where we have access to wonderful medical care.  There are actually a lot of options available to us, and we are now in the beginning stages of researching and learning about these options so that we can make a big decision.  Some of these surgeries can be done as early as 3 years old, and Nathan will be 3 in January, so we have decided to start our inquiries now.

Before Nathan came home, we knew that this would come.  We knew that surgery and reconstruction was probably in store for him down the road.  What I didn't know was that when it is your child you are talking about...it's really hard.

It's hard to make decisions about changing him.  We love him so much and honestly wouldn't change a thing...if this world was perfect.  But it's not, and so we grapple with thoughts about making changes to his appearance to protect him from harsh and cruel people.

We feel very excited about the possibility that he might be able to have surgery to improve or even restore his hearing!  What an amazing thing that would be!  We are taking steps to look into this possibility and I must admit I am excited for that part of it.

As thoughts about these decisions have been pressing in on my mind lately, one thought continues to echo in my heart:

"Be still and know that I am God."

The Lord is walking this road with us, gently leading us, always hearing our prayers, and He asks me once again to trust Him with this little boy I love so much.

Can I ask you to pray for us as we walk this journey?  We know it is a long road ahead but we trust that God will faithfully guide us every step of the way.