Daniel is 17 months today

This has been a bumper period of growth for Daniel. I cannot help but compare his development to my relationship with God, which has had similar periods of up and down. Sometimes, I feel like I am playing a game of snakes and ladders in life and when I least expect it I end up on a snake… I know that I’m not alone in this, but God gives us the strength to get back on the ladder and climb it.

There is something rather precious about a child’s innocence and the fact that they are excited about anything new that they experience. Daniel really enjoys life and even when he is connected up to his oxygen he does not allow it to slow him down. I have been told repeatedly by the health care professionals that Daniel has made phenomenal progress developmentally. This is a wonderful answer to prayer. He is however, behind his Down Syndrome peer group. Still, he is streets ahead when it comes to effort and determination. He wants to move on. I find this hugely challenging about my Christian life. Do I want to become stronger in my walk with God and am I going to persevere when sometimes it would be easier just to lie there? Daniel has poor muscle tone, which has improved dramatically, he used to be really floppy and hardly lift his head up off the floor. There are times when that unfortunately mirrored my walk with God. Daniel’s determination and the repetition of various exercises strengthened his muscles. He had to work with me to improve. I feel that one of the things that God has taught me since He has blessed me with Daniel, is that I need to work more with Him. I need to trust him to move me so I can stand up and see things as he wants me to do. Sometimes, I wobble all over the place and fall down. God lovingly and tenderly picks me up and lets me catch my breath when I am tired and then repeats the exercise until I have learnt what he wants to teach me. I do feel cherished.

We had a good day as a family today enjoying a wholesome (!) pub lunch with family in the sunshine. It was lovely and is one of those times in life where you want to hit pause just to retain the moment. Even something like this 2 months ago would have been difficult for us but we are becoming more confident in how to deal with situations when we are out and actually enjoy them!! It is a blessing that we don’t take for granted.