Such tragedy as loosing your beloved son will leave not only heartache but it will change you. Our precious Hezekiah has been the reason we pray more, talk more, cry more , and think deeply these past couple days. There is so much I want to share but it is such a variety of thoughts that I need to stick to one thing at a time.

I will start with how we are doing. We have a peace from God and I know this comes from the prayers of many. THANK YOU! We hurt, we ache, we miss Hezekiah deeply and we as a family are dealing with our loss together. It has made us even closer as we are all "open and raw" with each other. Our children have become even more precious to Ken and I as we have experienced the loss of one of them. We have been savoring every moment with them all laughing, crying, and living.

My thoughts go to our "outer shells". Hezekiah had an obvious birth defect on his head. I was nervous how I would deal with it before he was born. However, at first glance it was not a pretty sight but I easily over looked it. I changed his dressings, put antibiotics on his head, and took care of it as a mother would. Ken and the children also openly accepted it and we all loved Hezekiah regardless of his obvious head defect. We saw so much deeper with Hezekiah, we saw beyond his "shell". I think it is fair to say it is easy to do this with someone you love. But what about others that are not so easy to love?

It brought me to thinking about how we deal with others on a daily basis. Do we look beyond their "shell" to see the preciousness of life? The shell is just an outside cover and truly it is not the important part of any person, it is earthly not eternal. I think that God would have us look beyond the outer shell at all times realizing that our responses to others should always be that of love. Can we see deeper as God does? Can we leave it up to God to change hearts as we just show love? Can we not make judgments about someone? I am not saying we should allow blatant sin into our homes or lives. I am saying can we love and show genuine love and let God do the rest? God can move mountains, part seas, heal the sick, create life...so we know he has the power to do amazing things. Instead of fighting it out why not show love and spend time on our knees? Why not?

Some would not have been able to see beyond Hezekiah's birth defect. I will admit I have not been able to see beyond some people's "shells" but God has used Hezekiah to open my eyes to see! I will always remember: Be careful in what you think of another person, you do not know the inner part, inner hurts, inner struggles. Always think the best of someone, and show them that you love them. Let God deal with the injustices of others. If a persons outer shell is not perfect or they have chosen to look "different" look beyond it. Look at others the way God looks at us! Life is so different when you look at people in this manner. There is a joy and a peace knowing God is in control and HE CAN make the difference. LOVE ALWAYS and reach out to those around us!

On a funny note, the picture above is of my love. He has been Mr. Mom here as I am recovering from a c-section and this is how I caught him one night after he put the kids to bed. He says he is ready to go back to work for a vacation :) I LOVE THIS MAN, truly my knight in shining armor!!