From Elise's Mom.
I read my Elise update today and this was written by her mother, Susan. I just felt like I should share it with you because I think we can all benefit from such thoughts.
Yesterday I attended a retreat with junior high students from Bellevue Christian School. Over the eight hours I spent with these great kids, I had lots of time to reflect about life, change, anticipations, presumptions and more. I watched groups of girls just hanging out together and I wondered, “Which girl is most like Elise?” “If Elise were here today, what would she be doing?” It could have been easy to lament the fact that Elise is sick but to be honest my heart did not go there. I thought what a blessing it has been to spend hours and hours of quality time with Elise—far more than I ever have, or most likely would have if cancer had not entered our lives. I also thought about how I have carried perceptions about Elise for a long time—pegged her as a certain type of kid.
As her mother I was certain I knew how God fashioned her, what she was capable of and what she might become. I see now that my perceptions were incomplete. Through cancer I have witnessed characteristics of Elise I never knew existed. She is far more courageous than I knew. She has a deep inner joy that can’t be quenched, and a resolve to take what life hands her. The depth of her character never presented itself when we were “doing life as usual”.
The same is true for Jared. I see him as far more vulnerable than I thought and deeply appreciative of each day the sun rises.
It makes me wonder if I short-change myself and others. Maybe there is more to us all than we see. Maybe, just maybe we are far more capable than we give ourselves credit for. Perhaps we are gifted in ways we never thought possible.
The Lord says that we are precious in His sight. And think about it, He sees more than we humans do. Heck, He can look into the very deepest parts of our souls. I may never see you or my children as He can, but cancer has taught me to look deeper, reserve judgment, and celebrate every person I come in contact with.
Yesterday I attended a retreat with junior high students from Bellevue Christian School. Over the eight hours I spent with these great kids, I had lots of time to reflect about life, change, anticipations, presumptions and more. I watched groups of girls just hanging out together and I wondered, “Which girl is most like Elise?” “If Elise were here today, what would she be doing?” It could have been easy to lament the fact that Elise is sick but to be honest my heart did not go there. I thought what a blessing it has been to spend hours and hours of quality time with Elise—far more than I ever have, or most likely would have if cancer had not entered our lives. I also thought about how I have carried perceptions about Elise for a long time—pegged her as a certain type of kid.
As her mother I was certain I knew how God fashioned her, what she was capable of and what she might become. I see now that my perceptions were incomplete. Through cancer I have witnessed characteristics of Elise I never knew existed. She is far more courageous than I knew. She has a deep inner joy that can’t be quenched, and a resolve to take what life hands her. The depth of her character never presented itself when we were “doing life as usual”.
The same is true for Jared. I see him as far more vulnerable than I thought and deeply appreciative of each day the sun rises.
It makes me wonder if I short-change myself and others. Maybe there is more to us all than we see. Maybe, just maybe we are far more capable than we give ourselves credit for. Perhaps we are gifted in ways we never thought possible.
The Lord says that we are precious in His sight. And think about it, He sees more than we humans do. Heck, He can look into the very deepest parts of our souls. I may never see you or my children as He can, but cancer has taught me to look deeper, reserve judgment, and celebrate every person I come in contact with.
posted by carlybish at 7:53 PM
1 Comments:
That's beautiful!!!
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