"Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become." (2 Corinthians 12:7-10 MSG)
I read these words a couple of months ago as I was studying this passage. I first read it in the another translation, but then I read it in The Message to get another perspective. After reading it, I was in tears. This is the story of our Evan.
I have struggled for years with pride. In fact, when we lost our first pregnancy in 2005, one of the things the Lord brought out of it was my problem with pride. I constantly battle it, but I honestly thought I had it beat. Then I became pregnant with Evan, and after our 20 week sonogram, we found out the heartbreaking news that he had Down's Syndrome. We literally begged God to remove it. We believed He would. And yet all He seemed to say was, "My grace is sufficient."
When Evan was first born and spent his first 5 weeks of life in the NICU, I had a hard time seeing Down's as a gift. Most days, I still do. However, Evan himself is a gift. He is the happiest, most content child on the planet! He loves us, and he adores his big brother! To hear him giggle at Zach is one of the sweetest sounds you will ever hear. To see him do new things (albeit slower than his friends) brings us great joy. Every barrier he overcomes is a celebration to us!
He has taught us so much in his almost 2 years. And one of the things we have learned is to let Christ take over in our weakness. Jesus has been completely sufficient for every need we have had! He has gone ahead of us to make a way. And every step of the way, our faith has been strengthened. No, I cannot say that Down's is a gift at this point. But Evan is. Knowing Christ better and more clearly is. That is the gift!
I read these words a couple of months ago as I was studying this passage. I first read it in the another translation, but then I read it in The Message to get another perspective. After reading it, I was in tears. This is the story of our Evan.
I have struggled for years with pride. In fact, when we lost our first pregnancy in 2005, one of the things the Lord brought out of it was my problem with pride. I constantly battle it, but I honestly thought I had it beat. Then I became pregnant with Evan, and after our 20 week sonogram, we found out the heartbreaking news that he had Down's Syndrome. We literally begged God to remove it. We believed He would. And yet all He seemed to say was, "My grace is sufficient."
When Evan was first born and spent his first 5 weeks of life in the NICU, I had a hard time seeing Down's as a gift. Most days, I still do. However, Evan himself is a gift. He is the happiest, most content child on the planet! He loves us, and he adores his big brother! To hear him giggle at Zach is one of the sweetest sounds you will ever hear. To see him do new things (albeit slower than his friends) brings us great joy. Every barrier he overcomes is a celebration to us!
He has taught us so much in his almost 2 years. And one of the things we have learned is to let Christ take over in our weakness. Jesus has been completely sufficient for every need we have had! He has gone ahead of us to make a way. And every step of the way, our faith has been strengthened. No, I cannot say that Down's is a gift at this point. But Evan is. Knowing Christ better and more clearly is. That is the gift!
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