November got here WAY too fast! But I’m not complaining. Here in Houston, especially after the historic flooding the city endured after Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey, every month that goes by brings us closer to healing, restoration and rebuilding. I love how God makes all things new, especially after a storm! Bring on this new month, this new season and lots of reasons to give thanks.
I’m sharing 23 days of Thanksgiving here on the blog, and YOU are invited to join in!
Post in the comments below, or share on your own social channels (like I’ve seen friends posting on Facebook!)
On Day 2: I’m thankful for my son, Chris.
(Stay tuned for day 3 — I’ll share about my daughter!)
I always dreamed of having kids. When my hubby Adam and I were dating, we talked about having kids of our own and maybe even adopting!
That dream was threatened by a scary brain tumor diagnosis. My hubby and I had only been married for 9 months when that happened back in 2004. There was surgery and a treatment that had potential side effects that could affect fertility. I was terrified. I cried at the mere thought that we might not have kids.
Our future as a family seemed uncertain.
I dreamed of being a mom and there was a time early in our marriage where I wondered if our future would look different than I had imagined.
But this is where Thanksgiving starts to kick in!
God blew our minds! Adam’s surgery was on November 30th, 2004. What was thought to be a high grade malignancy, turned out to be benign. Thank you JESUS!!! The “potential fertility issues” were squashed within 6 months when I found out I was PREGNANT!!! Thank you, LORD!!!!
Somewhere between the brain tumor diagnosis and the day I found out I was pregnant, I remember highlighting this Bible passage from Deuteronomy 7 and writing about it in my journal:
12If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your ancestors. 13He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land—your grain, new wine and olive oil—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you. 14You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor will any of your livestock be without young. 15The Lord will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all who hate you. 16You must destroy all the peoples the Lord your God gives over to you. Do not look on them with pity and do not serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
I had no idea how MEANINGFUL this passage would become the year after the brain tumor.
We saw God “increase our numbers” and bless the fruit of my womb.
He blessed the “crops of our land” by increasing our income almost 4 times and blessing us with an amazing job offer and relocation from Puerto Rico to California.
And on January 23rd, 2006 Adam and I looked at each other and then looked down at our little miracle, Chris.
I couldn’t believe it. We had a son. Adam and I, suddenly went from just being husband and wife, to instantly becoming “Mom and Dad”.
What a blessing!
Considering how eventful the year before had been, (we got married, went to Disney on our honeymoon, had brain tumor surgery, went back to Disney to celebrate!), the year our son was born was a MIRACLE.
The Bible says children are a blessing from the Lord, and Papi (that’s what I call Chris), YOU were the biggest blessing of our lives up until that point. Daddy and I are super blessed to call you our son and we are so proud of the young man you are becoming.
Your love of sports and eating healthy inspire us every day.
Your kindness toward animals (your 2 guinea pigs Colin and Juan) reveals your tender side.
You are the BEST big brother (most of the time)! 😉
And we love seeing how, even as a little “babu” you learned to pray “Thank you Jesus, for dying on the cross for our sins”. We can’t wait to see what God has in store for you next!
Today, Day 2, I am thankful, Papi, for YOU! <3
Laughing (and loving my son) thru life,
Coppelia