I have to think about what to say. How does a mom answer that?? How can I help a sweet little girl, who I've tried so hard to keep innocent and carefree?
A child who now has to be brave, and face a possible lifelong disability. A disability that means she can't drive, shouldn't live alone, and could shorten her life span? How?
I thought about my own childhood. How my parents helped me.
My father is a Presbyterian minister. He has spent his entire life serving others, studying, and teaching God's Word. My mother spends her life helping him. They filled our lives with love and care. They sacrificed to make sure we had a good education. And they taught us about God.
They taught that God is real. That He hears our prayers and answers them. That He even knows the number of hairs on our heads. That every thing that happens to us is for His glory and our good. Even the hard things. Even the things we don't understand.
The first Bible verse my mother taught me was Psalm 56:3. "What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee."
"Honey, I don't know why you have epilepsy. I do know things happen for a reason. That God hears our prayers, and wants us to trust Him."
"Remember the verse I taught you? 'What time I am afraid....?' "
" 'I will trust in thee'. Can we pray for my epilepsy to get better?"
And we did pray. Every day. So did our loved ones and friends.
So, while I really don't know why she was the one who got this malady, I do know that it is her mountain to climb. I can't fix it for her. I can't make it better. No matter how much I want to.
But, I can teach her to trust. To pray. To hope. To face life's problems with courage and faith. To help and educate others.
She has already taught me so much. The faith of children is a beautiful, powerful thing. Surely there will be an answer for her. There has to be. There must be someone out there with answers. Who can look at an MRI, and know what it means. Who can do more than prescribe meds that only work so long. If only.....
hi! my name is Denise Vandermey and I read your beautiful blog about epilepsy. I have Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, and i did'nt start with seizures until i was 28 years old. i am now 56, and i understand what it is to trust God in this because, He does hear our prayers. My faith was tested alot when i started having seizures,Drs. have finally had me on the right combo of meds and i have been seizure free for 20 years. God will hear her prayers as well as yours and He will hive her a long life. "I will live and not die says The Lord." Also Psalms 91 is a GREAT chapter and the vers that says:" He will give His angels chatge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways! They shall bear thee up in thine hands lest thou dash thy foot against a stone" (ot have a seizure)
ReplyDeleteOh, thank you Denise! That is so sweet. It's amazing how many people we've met who actually have epilepsy. I think it's something people don't talk about, but maybe we need to raise awareness. I'm so glad you were able to find something that works for you.
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