I am a firm believer the Lord answers prayers on his own time. He also allows a teaching moment with each prayer answered. I had always wanted a little girl and not just any little girl but one who had the talents I did not possess. I wanted a little girl who was smart with math and had an easy time learning new things. I wanted her to not be fearful to try things like cartwheels and flips, something I feared so much that it ended my cheerleading career at a very early age. I am not going to lie, I also wanted my little girl to have blonde hair and blue eyes, a selfish prayer I know, and one I never expected to happen, knowing my husband and I both have dark hair!
We waited for a long time for our baby girl, Delaney Lynne, to arrive so when she did, with blonde hair and blue eyes, just two days before Thanksgiving, I felt like the Lord was answering my prayers. She was my most special Thanksgiving blessing.
We learned as she grew that she was fearless with cartwheels and flips and more than eager to learn. She is really good at math and science, such a blessing! Anyone who knows me knows math is not a strength of mine, but an actual struggle.
Ok, I am sure you’re wondering, what was the Lord’s lesson for me? Delaney is all of those things and more but she is not as naturally confident when interacting with friends and adults as I was as a child or am now as an adult. She is very cautious before speaking up and also very sensitive. As a natural, confident leader, I have to find new ways to teach her self-confidence and it is a huge learning curve for me. I was never taught how to be vocal or confident; it was just there, in my being. I also have to coach her on how to handle her heart and how to react, which is extremely hard because I don’t want her to loss her sensitive touch. I am learning and challenged every day.
My second Thanksgiving blessing is the love of two special family members. Auntie KK and Uncle Tim who made us our first Thanksgiving dinner as a family of three. They delivered the homemade meal and served us in the hospital! The tradition of the five us sharing this holiday has lived on since that first year in the hospital.
As we are coming up on Thanksgiving, pause and be thankful, fill yourself with the abundance of your blessings!!
(Delaney loves the beach and the water like me, she can spent a whole day riding the waves and just hanging out at the waters edge. So naturally, this song was only fitting, giving the song title and story behind it. When my Delaney was a baby she heard this song many times a week and even now, smiles as it plays!)
Tric, your darling daughter sounds very much like mine ….. we see the love and beauty in all that she is and does, but she struggles to see it herself. It has been (and continues to be) an honor and a gift to try to help her see and accept all that she has to share with the world. You are right, it is challenging, but you will both grow greatly from the process. I am extremely thankful to have had the opportunity to watch mine develop into a 21-year old, now so very different from the shy girl she once was, but still with her sensitive caring heart…. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Enjoy the ride!
We love our Delaney. She’ll continue to be smart, funny,and full of spunk. I’m just thankful that we get to be there for her along the way. We’ll miss her birthday this year, but we’ll be thinking about her all weekend long (because, she really deserves more than one day to feel special!). xxoo