Welcome to Holland by Emily Perl Kingsley. c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved.

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability- to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this...

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip- to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills... and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say, "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very, very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things... about Holland.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Blessings

We had a very interesting day today... My parents drove up yesterday and so we went to my sisters house for Sunday dinner.  When we got there, Mitch started his little "episodes" immediately and so we decided just to go right back home with him.  When Mitch is not feeling well, it is just so much easier to be at home with him.  On our way home, he started to seize.  When we got home we gave him his medication to stop it and probably 10 minutes later we heard a knock at the door.  I opened the door thinking who the heck is knocking on my door right now... but to my surprise, it was our Bishop.  As tears were streaming down my face he said "Well, I guess I am at the right house."  He told me that as he pulled into his drive way, something told him that he needed to come over to our house.  He stayed and gave Mitch a blessing and within 5 minutes, Mitch was settled and sleeping sound.  Then he gave Will and I both a blessing as well and stayed to visit for a little while.  I am so grateful for the inspirations and promptings we get from our Heavenly Father.  He truly knows each of us and tonight I am so aware of His love for me and my family.  I am incredibly blessed to have the gospel in my life and to have such a sweet little spirit in my home.  Mitch is such a joy and even though we have hard times with him and it is so hard to see him suffer, he brings so much joy into our lives that I am truly amazed by him.  I am grateful for Bishop Barclay for listening to the promptings to come to our house today.  I know that our bishopric is very in tune to the Spirit because the last time Mitch had a seizure, our second councelor knocked on our door that night too.  My cup is full today:)

2 comments:

  1. Oh Courtney - what a sweet & tender post!!! I'm totally balling my eyes out! You are amazing!!! We will keep you in our prayers!

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  2. It is funny how the Lord works. I too couldn't help but cry. You're so blessed. Take care of those boys. I always pray for your family.

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