A few prayer requests

I just want to start off by saying thank you for all of you who read this and leave me comments and emails. It is very encouraging to read your notes.

First, I want to start off and ask for prayer for Paul and I's cousin, Mary White. She is having her 11th surgery this morning since January and her 20 total since she was born. Mary is a 9 year old girl with Hydrocephalus. This means her fluid does not drain off her brain like a "normal" person's does. She has a shunt in her head that drains the fluid manually. Right now her shunt is not working properly and it is causing her a lot of pain. Please pray the doctors will figure out what's wrong with her and fix it. She has a caringbridge website and the website name is princessbob.

My second prayer request is for my sister & brother in law, Michelle & Jerry Jessup. They found out yesterday that Michelle miscarried again. This is her second miscarriage in 4 months, both being around 8 weeks pregnant. This pregnancy they monitored her closer and she even heard the heartbeat just two weeks ago. She had two healthy pregnancies with my niece and nephew, Faith & Brayden. She read that there is less than a 5% miscarriage rate after you hear the heartbeat. My heart yearns for them. I guess I always thought Michelle had it easy because she could get pregnant, unlike myself, but now I know she suffers even more pain than I. I do know that feeling of wanting a child (or another child in their case), but I can't imagine actually getting pregnant and losing it. Michelle and I spoke last night, and she really has a good outlook on the situation. She knows that God has a perfect plan, and that it stinks right now, but that it was His will. I pray that everything will go well with her healing both physically and emotionally.

Lastly, I want to leave you with an email forward that I received this week. It spoke to my heart like no other words have, and I feel it is appropriate to share with you all today. Much love, Samantha

A Wonderful Mother

“There are women that become mothers without effort, without thought, without patience or loss and though they are good mothers and love their children, I know that I will be better in a sense. I will be better not because of genetics, or money or that I have read more books but because I have struggled and toiled for this child. I have longed and waited. I have cried and prayed. I have endured and planned over and over again. Like most things in life, the people who truly have appreciation are those who have struggled to attain their dreams. I will notice everything about my child. I will take time to watch my child sleep, explore and discover. I will marvel at this miracle every day for the rest of my life. I will be happy when I wake in the middle of the night to the sound of my child, knowing that I can comfort, hold and feed him and that I am not waking to take another temperature, pop another pill, take another shot or cry tears of a broken dream. My dream will be crying for me. I count myself lucky in this sense; that God has given me this insight, this special vision with which I will look upon my child that my friends will not see. Whether I parent a child I actually give birth to or a child that God leads me to, I will not be careless with my love. I will be a better mother for all that I have endured. I am a better wife, a better aunt, a better daughter, neighbor, friend and sister because I have known pain. I know disillusionment as I have been betrayed by my own body. I have been tried by fire and hell many never face, yet given time, I stood tall. I have prevailed. I have succeeded. I have won. So now, when others hurt around me, I do not run from their pain in order to save myself discomfort. I see it, mourn it, and join them in theirs. I listen. And even though I cannot make it better, I can make it less lonely. I have learned the immense power of another hand holding tight to mine, of other eyes that moisten as they learn to accept the harsh truth and when life is beyond hard. I have learned a compassion that only comes with walking in those shoes. I have learned to appreciate life. Yes I will be a wonderful mother.” (to my second child...) Author Unknown