I am thankful for being able to help others by sharing my struggles. Sometimes by allowing others to see the pain you have faced it can help them to better face the struggles ahead of them.
Last night on a facebook group I met a mom with a 7 month old little boy who is struggling with bowel issues (I won’t get in to details). This mom was very stressed and upset (as any good mom would be). I read her story as she shared it with the group and I saw in it my own story with Nate. There were so many parallels that it brought tears to my eyes. Today I sent her a message and offered to share my story (or rather Nate’s). She accepted and we spent a lot of time messaging back and forth. I don’t really know this woman and we haven’t become best friends, in fact odds are that a some point will drift apart and loose contact but that doesn’t change the fact that her and her child have touched my heart and I hope that I have touched hers. By spending that time today I feel I got to help her at least in some small way, but even more she helped me. She helped me to see all of that bad that I watched Nate go through as something that is turned into something wonderful. Don’t get me wrong if I could I would take all of it away and have him live a “normal” childhood…but I can’t. Instead it has become a badge of honor. A strength. Courage. I feel honored and thankful to be able to look back and see how far things have come and to be able to share that with others to help and to try to ease some of the journey that they have ahead of them.
I would also be thankful for any prayers that could be shared in your hearts for this little man and his momma and family.