...and the Light Shines In!

I grew up going to church every single Sunday for as long as I can remember. I was baptized as a baby, made my confirmation in 8th grade, and went to Sunday school. While I was in college, I usually only went if I was home for the weekend or during holidays. My family sat in the same section with my Mom's parents, my mom's aunt and uncle, my dad's mom, my mom's sister and her kids, and my mom's other sister sang in the choir as did my dad's dad before he passed away. My parents were married in the church and grew up going to Sunday school there as well. As you can see, religion always played a role in my life.

When Chris and I met and eventually got engaged, our initial plan was to have our ceremony on the bay in Lavallette at the gazeebo that I loved so much at sunset-ish in the summer. However, with different things not working out, worrying about the heat, and me starting to have that feeling that I would like to get married in a church, we slowly started to change our mind. We decided that we wanted to start going to church again and find our own place where we would be comfortable. We showed up on Christimas Eve morning in 2006 and fell in love. The church is just BEAUTIFUL with light shining in all of the large stained glass windows. We loved the Pastor from the 1st day and just knew that was where we wanted to start our family. We slowly found our "niche", had a beautiful wedding ceremony, and then Colin's baptism.

I love having Colin there with us now. He is so loved! Sometimes when we are there with him, I wonder what he "sees". He looks around and just smiles. He loves the music, especially when we all sing together. He looks around at the beautiful windows and the light shining in. And he smiles some more...
This weeks sermon had a lot to do with whether or not you are "listening" and "seeing" when God is speaking to you. Pastor Bill referenced "climbing the moutain" from Matthew 17 where Jesus takes disciples to the top of the mountain. I was thinking a lot about my own life with Colin and how when I found out that Colin had Down Syndrome I surely did not want to "listen" or "see" what God was telling me. Chris and I were put on top of a mountain and exposed to the elements. We couldn't look past the Down Syndrome at first.

But I do listen now...and I "see" it. Colin was our gift meant just for Chris and me. We see so far beyond the Down Syndrome. We can see and hear every single day as Colin teaches us new things and tells us to slow down and be patient. We see and feel God's love from the unconditional love of our child. The sun may not always be shining bright on top of that mountain, but we will keep climbing and slow down to listen and see.