For Now, We Will 'Tell' Her Story

My sister shared this passage with me a couple days ago and...(here it comes)....it's had me thinking :)

Isaiah 65
New Heavens and a New Earth
17 “See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. 19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. 20 “Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child; the one who fails to reach[a] a hundred will be considered accursed. 21 They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They will not labor in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with them."

I trust that one day Tessa will be made new. God promises, in detail, the design of our eternity with Him in Isaiah 65. In Hebrews 11 verse 1 it says "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." My faith in God's promises is what tells me that one day Tessa will hear perfectly, she will see perfectly, her body will be formed perfectly, her brain will be without imperfections, her pain will be gone, her struggles no more...the design of her story today, will one day take on God's design for her eternity. These promises give me peace to know that this day will come, and they motivate me to seek God in every aspect of my life today.

Tessa's story is such a difficult one to try and explain, and for that, I find myself grateful for the ways in which she is being "equipped" for opportunities in her life. I believe the equipment serves as visual explanations of Tessa's story. On July 31, 2010, the day after her diagnosis, we took a precious picture of Tessa in the hospital with her IV hat on her head. On August 17th, she was fitted with her adorable new pair of light pink hearing aids. In just a few days, she will be fitted with her new pair of pink and white dafos (leg braces). On June 7th, she will have her right cochlear implant (CI) surgery and then on June 22nd it will be activated and she will begin wearing the external processor for the CI.

Tessa is a year old, but because of her physical disabilities, I would assume to most, she just looks more like 6-9 months old. Her hearing aids help tell the story of her hearing loss, but we have not had any method for explaining her physical disability. For the most part, as long as people haven't asked how old she is, we haven't seemed to encounter much confusion. I am a little surprised by it, but I am actually very excited to be getting Tessa's dafos. For once it will feel like we will have a bit of an explanation for why we put her in her stroller every where we go. For once there will be a visual explanation for those that are shocked to hear she is a year old. And the timing couldn't be better, considering I mailed off our Physical Disability Parking Placard Application to the Oklahoma DPS yesterday. I can remember the days when I would watch the people parking in the handicapped spots and at times, wonder what was wrong. There will still be those that just see what appears to be a perfectly happy, healthy, normal family with a 3 year old and a baby in a stroller. But hopefully for those that might pause a little longer, they will notice the dafos and choose to be satisfied with 'explanation' other than troubled with confusion and judgement.

There are things about Tessa's story that have intense application in my walk of faith. As a Christian, I want my story to reflect God's love and compassion for the people around me. I want to learn something new every day that equips me to impact someone else and to embrace opportunities to show love and compassion to others. For me, bearing witness to what God has done in my life, is something I prefer others to see, not necessarily hear. Sometimes I feel like there can be too much time spent trying to "explain". Explanations are things that are heard, while to me, being "equipped" provides opporunities for others to see. We are all such busy people. We are walking in the tunnel of our own lives; juggling our marriages, children, family, friendships, jobs, activities and exhaustion. There seems to be fewer people who stop and take the time to talk, ask or listen. I am learning that I can't depend on opportunities to arise to explain Tessa's story, but I am learning that people do take the time to stop and look. So, in my own walk of faith, I want to make sure that those looks are met with reminders of God's love for us. And I'm learning, the only way to turn a glance or a stare into a visual reminder of God's love for us, is for me to take the time to equip myself with God's word and God's ways and pray that in a moment there is an impact and an explanation that goes beyond any words that could be spoken.

So for now, I will be thankful for the equipment that helps 'tell' Tessa's story...and even more thankful for what her story is teaching me about faith, hope and love.

~Whitney