Straight From Heaven

Howdy, faithful readers!! 80 views within the first week!! To you who are reading this, I thank you. :) And to the 3 members that I definitely, absolutely, positively have no idea who you are, your support means a ton to me!! ;) Seriously, thank you. I have become enthralled with the idea of blogging; I'm trying very hard to be more conscientious of observations, insights, and happenings in my day to day life that I can write about. It's still a work in progress, but I hope to one day be able to see something totally random, such as a dog taking a doosky by a tree, and turn it into pure philosophical gold...oh boy, the gears are already turning....but I suppose I'll save that for another time.

I must admit that I had a difficult time coming up with a subject to write about in this second post, but then I remembered that while discussing this whole blog idea with my brother and his wife during a recent visit to Boston, they had a request for me to write about something, or rather someone special, so I will fulfill their wishes. You see that adorable little munchkin in the picture above? That is Marie-Claire, my beautiful little angel of a niece, and she is a very special little girl. When my brother and his wife told me they were pregnant, I entertained the thought of being an uncle, and I became very excited! I'm not sure why, but I felt very proud of the fact that I was going to be an uncle; I was enthusiastic at the prospect of being someone that this little boy or girl could look up to, someone that could be there for him or her when times were tough, someone that could positively impact his or her life. Little did I know that this little girl would have an even greater impact on me and my life.

Bear with me for a second, it's story time. I went to Las Vegas with my mom, aunt, and cousin this past February, and I'll never forget that trip. No, not because what happened in Vegas stayed in Vegas, but because of what happened after Vegas. We met my grandparents at a local Denny's after we had arrived back home to grab some breakfast for dinner (the best!). While I was stuffing my face with pancakes, my mom received a phone call. The shock in her voice and self-dismissal from the table was enough to indicate that something was wrong. It was my brother. He informed us that Marie-Claire was not growing properly inside my sister-in-law's womb, and they were to be sent down to University of Colorado Hospital in Denver to remain on bed rest until the docs determined Marie-Claire needed to be delivered, in which case they would perform an emergency C-Section.

I'll spare you all of the details, but long-story short, Marie-Claire was born on March 23, 2011, more than a month before her due date, weighing in at a whopping 2 lbs, 12 oz. She was placed in the care of the NICU, which for those not familiar with medical lingo, stands for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and she remained there for more than a month. I remember the first time I met her. [For humorous purposes, and because I have no idea what any of that stuff was for, I'm going to pretend that all of the medical equipment was actually long-lost props from an episode of Star Trek]. There she was, all bundled up in her little space pod, sleeping peacefully in her cryo-stasis. I had to thoroughly sanitize my hands before I could touch her, and I had to touch her through specialized arm holes on the side of her space-pod. She was hooked up to some high-tech, futuristic contraption that beeped and had lasers shooting out of it (ok, not really), and all of the tubes and wires attached to her body made her look like a little baby Borg. On another note, I will be amused if anybody gets these references, I'm not even sure I get them. But I digress. She was so teeny-tiny. Her foot was about as big as my thumbnail. Seriously. It was so surreal to me. She was so little, yet she was living, breathing, alive. And she was beautiful. I know she's only my niece and not even my own child, but I instantly fell in love with her.

Babies that are born prematurely have many health challenges and risks to deal with. As if that mountain wasn't already treacherous enough to try and climb, a few weeks after she was born, little Marie-Claire, my brother, and his wife were faced with another peak to overcome. Marie-Claire was diagnosed with a neuro-developmental disorder known as Williams Syndrome. Kids with William's Syndrome are known to have cardiac problems along with a slew of other physical, cognitive, and developmental problems. However, William's Syndrome does have it's own special traits that make it a very unique kind of disorder. People with William's are very sociable and have no social inhibitions whatsoever, which makes them very kind and caring. On top of that, people with William's are known to be more more musically adept than the average person, and there is a higher percentage of people with William's who have perfect pitch than found in those without William's Syndrome.

As wonderful as the latter qualities may be, the sad reality of Marie-Claire's diagnosis is that she may have severe health problems as she grows older, and she will more than likely have to be cared for by us for the duration of her life. My brother and his wife were very upset when they were dealt this hand, and with good reason; who wouldn't be? This is not the life anybody would have envisioned for their daughter. Why would God allow this? My brother and his wife are very faithful servants to the Lord; their faithfulness and commitment to one another and to the Lord's will have been a huge inspiration to me and I'm sure countless others who have had any sort of interaction with them. They didn't deserve to have to carry this burden.

I'm sure by now you've figured out where I am going with this. This, of course, ties in with the age-old, theological question that will seemingly never be answered until you're asking it face-to-face with the Big Man Himself: Why does God allow suffering? I don't want to even try and attempt to answer that question here; however, I would like provide some personal insights into what suffering does for our hearts, souls, and our faithfulness, in addition to the immense opportunity it provides for us to truly experience God's will for our life.

It has been said that "God will never give you more than you can handle"; in fact, the inspiration for that phrase comes from 1 Corinthians 10:13. I believe that this is true. God will never give us more than we can handle because he knows how much we can handle. Suffering is a very sad, difficult, and unfair part of life; when we are in suffering, we never understand the reason for it. Some people will say it's punishment, others will say that we're getting what we deserve, but that is not the way God works. God loves us more than we can possibly fathom, and through Christ we are reconciled for our sins. So, if God doesn't use suffering to punish us, then why does He allow it? Perhaps instead of "why does God allow suffering", the question we should be asking is "how does God use suffering"? One response to this could be that suffering is intended to be a test of faith. I disagree. I believe that suffering is an affirmation of faith.

A few weeks ago at Mass, the priest gave a homily relating to this very subject, and he said something to this effect that struck me very profoundly:

"God breaks us down so that He can break into our hearts."

When we are really, truly broken; that is when God works in our hearts the most. God wants you to rely on Him. He desires our dependence on Him. He uses our brokenness to strengthen our faithfulness. Brokenness can have many different forms;  it can be getting completely wrapped up in worldly sin; it could be looking into the sorrowful eyes of a sick, dying child in a third-world country; it could be the loss of a loved one; it could be giving birth to a child with a rare disorder. Whatever form brokenness takes on in your life, God will use it, and He will use it wondrously. He will use it to change your heart; He will use it to teach you how to live, how to love;  He will use it to show that He is always with you. He will use it to reveal beauty in the most unexpected of places.

Marie-Claire was born with a rare disorder that will create a difficult life for both her and her parents. But she is perfect. She is a blessing. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, of those who have been called according to his purpose." Well, I have experienced the promise in this verse firsthand through Marie-Claire, in more than one way. Only God can take seemingly horrible circumstances, and turn them into something beautiful, something that can completely change your heart and serve as a powerful reminder of God's unfathomable love for us. Marie-Claire is more perfect and adorable than words can say (seriously people, you have to see her in person in order to understand what I'm talking about), and every time she looks at me with those gorgeous blue eyes of hers or smiles at the dorky faces I make, I see something that is not of this earth; I see something sent straight from Heaven. How lucky am I that I get to be her uncle??

Well, that was quite a post. I hope I didn't bore you. Hopefully this is a little easier to read than my last one; I'm still learning the zen of blogging. Feedback is always appreciated!!

Until next time...