Change of Dreams?

Thursday as I was getting ready for work, Mom told me that she had just gotten an e-mail telling her that Randy, our Minister of Music's two week old grandson Joshua had been diagnosed with down syndrome.  My heart broke.

Let me just stop and tell you about Randy.  He's special.  Not just in the way he lights up a room just by walking in it, or the way the sound of his laugh makes me smile, or the fact that his Louisiana accent makes me laugh when he says certain words, but he's special because I don't trust easily, nor do I welcome people into my heart as easily and quickly as I have Randy.  From our first meeting he won me over, I can only describe it as a God thing.  I adore him, and from the way he picks on me, I have a feeling he thinks I'm fairly okay as well.

So, when I heard the news about his grandson that had been born two weeks earlier while I was working in the office, my mind went back to how happy he sounded on the phone when he called into the office to share the news.  I was crushed with what he must be feeling now.  Mom wanted me to know the news before I headed to work so that when I saw him, I wouldn't joyfully exclaim, "Hey Randy!  How's that new grand baby?" leaving him to have to fill me in.  When I got to work, the other secretary filled me in on the latest and said Randy had taken an "Emergency week" off from work to be with his daughter and son-in-law.  When I asked how Randy was holding up, I was told he was "destroyed" over the news.  My heart broke for him all over again.I can imagine that this family's world caved in.  All of the dreams and hopes they had for Joshua maybe weren't shattered, but I'm sure they now have to be altered a little bit.

 Thinking about Randy and his family so much this week has me also thinking of my parents.  What was their reaction when I was born two and a half months early and they got the news that I did indeed have Cerebral Palsy? Were they "destroyed" as well? Did all the hopes and dreams they had when they found out they were having another baby girl suddenly vanish?  And, shockingly, I wondered about something I had never thought of before until it was voiced in the office: If my parents had known that I was going to be born disabled, would they have kept me?

I know down syndrome comes with its own set of challenges that I am not even remotely qualified to even pretend I know about and I know that Joshua's parents must be reeling over this news as they come to terms with what lies ahead for their son.  I also know though that God doesn't make mistakes, and I know God is going to use sweet Joshua in a mighty way.  I know Joshua's parents might have to alter some of the dreams they had for Joshua, but I pray it doesn't stop them from dreaming BIG for him (if his parents are anything like his grandpa, I don't think I have to worry) because I KNOW God has incredible plans for Joshua! As his family continues to try and make sense of this, I pray that they cling to the promise of Jeremiah 29:11 and that it brings them hope and rest.