We are all different and that’s the beauty of humans. Some are given the chance of starting a family while others are assigned with another purpose. My husband and I were blessed enough to have our wish granted; that was to start a family of our own. Heaven sent us a daughter and we enjoy every minute of her ambitious, energy-draining, little heart. We get to call her “ours” no matter how hard it gets.
My whole life I was 100% certain that I would end up with my perfect other half. I prayed hard and I believed even harder. There was no way I was going to live this life with somebody who I wasn’t completely in sync with. With somebody who wouldn’t completely understand me. My biggest fear was to end up with someone else’s other half. I waited patiently for mine and eventually received. He was raised almost the exact same way that I was raised. He was molded into the man I was praying for. He was prepared for me and I was ready for him. We got married and started a family.
When thinking about children, I would pray about their distant future. I would start practicing healthy habits, plan out dream routines, and picture their success in my head. At a certain point, I was so fixed on the outcome that I forgot to focus on the process. When the child finally arrived, it was only the process that actually mattered. Our child was fully dependent on us. She was our full responsibility. Our purpose was to make sure that she was well-fed, well-rested, and well taken care of. Even though she was outnumbered, her needs had to be addressed first.
The most intimidating part has to be the fact that we are the parents in this situation. We are raising her as she forms into her own confident self. When the right time comes, and it’s God’s will, she will be leaving us for her own perfect other half. It will be the most humbling experience when she is told that she’s everything he ever prayed for.
Parenthood requires lots of faith and courage. God gave us a big test of faith that we had to go through. After giving birth to a beautiful and healthy baby girl, we woke up one day to a transformation in her appearance. Without any accidents or trauma, her left eye was randomly stuck in one position. Also known as esotropia, her eye was faced inward giving off a “cross-eyed" appearance. We were heartbroken. It was hard to recognize our own daughter.
We were informed that there was an issue with her optic nerve. The eye muscles did not appear to be affected (surgery is not an option here). The specialist gave her two weeks to recover but that wasn’t long enough. The doctors then gave her a recommendation for an MRI hoping to find the cause of this problem. Luckily, the results came back all clear and we were relieved to know that her brain is perfectly healthy. The doctors were confused about her condition and had come to a dead end. That's when we realized that we have to fully rely on God in this situation. My husband is a chiropractor and he was checking her nervous system daily. We didn’t go a day without the sticker eye patches. We made sure that her stress levels were reduced and she was getting enough of the right nutrients. We did the best we could from our end and let God do the rest. We prayed and fasted religiously. Faith played a huge role in this trial. Six months later, she was completely healed with no evidence of damage!!! It was a miracle! God brought her back to us! To this day, we still thank Him for hearing us and answering us.
For a family, it can be a blessing in disguise to have to go through hardships and painful life events. There are better days and then there are days that can be better. It’s all included in the process. And honestly, that's what family is for. To be here today, in the moment, taking care of one another. All together, we create life. And how we do it will affect our distant future.
Special thanks to my little sister, a new photographer, for capturing these beautiful moments and creating art.