Gabe is such a sweet natured child; so loving and caring towards others (except for Bitsy on occasion he he)he's always so concerned with other people, he's very sensitive-he's just a great kid. I really truly adore him.
Tonight at dinner we were talking about his friend B, who has CP and uses a wheel chair to get around. Gabriel asked me why his buddy couldn't walk. I explained tp he that B's brain sends messages to his legs, but his legs just don't get the message correctly. He thought about it for a moment and said "but he'll walk when he gets bigger, like I did right?" I gently explained, that no, he probably wouldn't walk when he gets bigger, that he'll probably always have to use his wheelchair to get around. He thought about it for another minute or so and said "But I can walk and my legs don't always work right, he will be able to walk when he is bigger, I know it" I told him we could hope that happened and we would pray about it, but it wasn't our decision.
And then, as he walked to the trash can and then to the sink, I thought about how truly miraculous the conversation we had was, because the kid in the wheel chair, with the legs that "don't get the message" could have very well been Gabriel, in fact, it SHOULD have been Gabriel. People always tell us how lucky we are and while Geo and I DO know how lucky we are, it gets tiring to hear it sometimes. Maybe, though, we don't realize JUST how lucky we truly are when it comes to Gabe and his health and maybe Gabe and my conversation tonight was a gentle nudge reminding me to NOT take his walking/running/toileting for granted because it COULD have been and SHOULD have been him in the wheelchair. It could have been SarahAnne asking me why Gabe uses a chair to get around, it could have been my nieces or nephews asking why he's in a chair or wears a diaper still...but it's not and for that I am eternally grateful and thinking about just how lucky we all are that Gabe can do what he does. I hope that the next time I start to feel down about Gabe's spina bifida, I'll be able to look at this and think "hey you know what, you ARE lucky; so many people have it so much worse and God made it so YOU are not one of them" and maybe it'll give the dose of reality I so badly need at the time.
On that note, it's time for bed...it's been a very posty day for me over here so I'll consider this my Early Thankful Thursday post ;)
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