A Good Dose of Reality

 
Today I received an e-mail letter from a woman who lives in Georgia with her husband, a 4-year-old daughter and a 2-1/2 year-old son, Will, who has Down Syndrome. A dear Rochester friend of hers saw the story about Jeff and "Journey With Jeff" in the Sunday paper a month or so ago and thought it would be a great gift to send them. "They couldn't have been more right," she said, "although I don't think the book had the effect that they thought it would. The one thing that I got from your book that I wasn't expecting at all was a good dose of reality and a grounding of my expectations for Will's life." She explained, "My husband and I have spent the last 2-1/2 years telling ourselves that Will would be the exception. He seems so smart. He'll be the one that goes on the Georgia Tech and gets an engineering degree. Or he'll be a doctor. Or author or actor. Or a musician (he loves music as much as Jeff did.) Or he'll get married and have his own family one day. While I know that there is always hope that he'll achieve one, or even more, of these dreams we have for him, the reality is that he very well may not. And that's a reality that I have avoided thinking about, which is funny considering I think of myself as a "realist" when it comes to life. No fancy dreams here. I just take life as it is, thank God every day for His provisions (and ask Him for help, of course) and go about living. But without even realizaing it, I have fantasized about Will's future in such a way that, in my mind, there was absolutely no question that he'd go on to achieve great things. And he will achieve geat things....but I needed to adjust my definition of "great." (A wise woman!) Then, the final paragraph in her wonderful letter: "In short, what I want to say is that "Journey With Jeff" has helped me to work through the last of my "mourning" over the loss of the child I'd hoped for and welcome with open arms the trip to Holland instead. It's a scary trip; we're about to enter the school years and I'm concerned about what lies ahead for Will and our family. But one thing I do know is that I have total faith in God and that He will provide whatever opportunities Will needs to carry out His purpose for his life here on Earth, and provide our family the strength to help Will achieve his best." Goosebumps! Her God-Story gives me goosebumps! She added that she'd check my blog now and again when she has a chance. So, welcome, friend. Welcome!