Thankful Thursday...

It's time for another Thankful Thursday.  I can't believe next week marks the big day of celebration...but time is one thing that you can always be certain will move forward no matter what.  This week I am thankful for the special children that have blessed my life (and the special people that take care of them). 
My niece, Mary Beth, turned 6 yesterday!  A celebration of a life that is not like yours or mine, but is special in His sight (and ours).  You see, sweet Mary Beth was born with a condition called CHARGE syndrome.  In a nutshell, she is deaf/partially blind, has a trach, PEG tube, and cleft palate (among other things).  But she is ours and she is loved.  I don't know why God chose for her to be the way she is, but I do know that He has a purpose for her.  Maybe to teach us humility.  Or maybe compassion.  Or maybe just to astound us with the miracle that is her life and the things that she has accomplished that no one thought she could.
Either way, she is a life and a child of God.  She is our niece, a granddaughter, a sister, and a beloved daughter.
 I am thankful that she has a mama like she does.  My sister-in-law makes it look so easy to take care of her.  When she pulls her trach out it's like when my little one falls and skins his knee.  So calm...I would be frantic (and I'm a nurse)!   Mary Beth knows who her mama is and she adores her.  As our Pastor calls her, Saint Betsy, and I must say that it is a fitting term.
So on this Thankful Thursday I want to thank Him for the miracle that is Mary Beth and the 6 years He has blessed us with her.  We look forward to how He will continue to astound us with her life.

Mary Beth riding the 'bull'

'Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him.' 
 Psalm 127:3