You've Come A Long Way, Baby!

12 years ago this Friday marks a milestone that many, sometimes me included, thought would never come. Brynna will turn 12 years old.

The blessings of God have been overwhelming and too numerous to list since He graced us with our little gem. As I dug through some photos to add to this blog, I walked down a winding path of wonderful and painful times.

To think they sent us home with her, prepared to hear that she had died and their prophecies had come true compared to where we are today is mind-blowing.

I get in trouble sometimes because when she does something awesome as my response is, “not bad for a vegetable.” It’s sort of my tongue-in-cheek way of saying, “neener neener” to all the doctors who told us she would simply be that, a vegetable, until she quietly died.

All I can say is never give up on what God has for you. Had that been His plan for us, we would have had to accept and adapt, but it wasn’t. Her future was not, and is not, a foregone conclusion. What we now know, and learned along the way, is God has no limit to what He can do.

Sure, we knew it before, in our minds, but now we know it in our bones. I can’t imagine Lazarus’ family after Jesus told him he wasn’t allowed to be dead anymore. Oh the wonder and joy they must have felt.

Having seen Brynna come back from the brink of death more than a few times, we have a bit of a window into that celebration.

Sure, there are parts of our lives that are infinitely harder, vacations are shorter or non-existent, dinner out is a nightmare, and spontaneity is a thing of the past, but blessings and lessons He has taught us are invaluable. The impact she has had on the lives of others is inspiring. Not to mention the overwhelming love she shows to us and we feel for her every day. Read more about her journey, here.

Happy birthday, kiddo. From those first few tenuous moments in the NICU to belly laughs from watching Drake and Josh reruns … you’ve come a long way, baby!