This season

I want to catch y'all up on what has been going on here. Sophie Kate has been dealing with pain off and on since Thanksgiving week.  We found out last Friday that her hip condition has worsened.  This is only going to mean something to medical folks but SK's right hip has been 20% subluxed for years and we have now found out that it has moved to 50% subluxation.  The simplest way I can explain it is that her right hip was 20% dislocated and now it is 50% dislocated.  This condition is not uncommon in children like Sophie Kate.  Remember when I told y'all that her muscles are literally pulling her joints out of socket?  Yeah, that's what is happening, it's sickening.  I can handle a lot when it comes to this girl but I cannot handle seeing her in pain.  

We have an appointment with her orthopedic doctor next week.  However, we have been talking about this moment for years.  These are the kind of conversations we have with her doctors.  We talk about the progression of Cerebral Palsy and the toll it takes on the body.  We talk about surgeries and meds and therapies and test results and quality of life.  We will talk about all of this in front of her and it will be heartbreaking.  There is not a lot to do in this situation.  There is a surgery option and we will listen to that, we will talk about doing nothing and what that will look like, we will talk about managing her pain and I will cry.  

As I sat beside this girl Friday afternoon praying over her with tears streaming down my face, God renewed a fresh perspective in my heart.  Sophie Kate has a unique way of organizing priorities and it ends up being pretty simple...none of this stuff matters.  None of this stuff that is in my home that I think is so inadequate compared to everyone else's home matters...none of the clothes I have that are never good enough, none of the cars we drive that aren't as nice as everyone else's cars, none of the vacations, none of the pressure we put on ourselves this time of year...none of it matters.  What does matter are people and family and friends, and yes both quality and quantity count.  What does matter is being intentional in our relationships and our sincerity of heart.  What does matter is laughing, talking, praying and just plain being together.  Gifts and decorations are fun but they do not matter.  Special times are made special because of the people I spend them with.  

I am not even going to apologize for this...I have become very disillusioned with the commercialization of Christmas.  I am done with making it something that it is not and I do not have to let all of that permeate my family and our Christmas.  I would rather our home and our Christmas be full of Christ instead of presents.  I would rather us be so full of Christ that we can't help but spill over and out to others and that this time of year becomes more about giving than receiving.  We become more outward focused than inward focused.  Being a part of Sophie Kate's world shows me how precious and how fragile life can be. And I do not want a minute of that message to be lost in the hustle and bustle that so wants take over this holiday.    

1 John 5:11 "And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son."