:)

I found this on a blog that I follow and it touched my heart :)
MANY PEOPLE SAY THAT SPECIAL FAMILIES ARE GIVEN SPECIAL CHILDREN. OTHERS, THAT SPECIAL BABIES CHOOSE THEIR PARENTS CAREFULLY. SADLY I HAVE SEEN ENOUGH CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES IN MY TIME WHO ARE UNLOVED, UNWANTED OR MALTREATED TO BE RATHER SUSPICIOUS OF EITHER OF THESE SENTIMENTS.
PERHAPS, RATHER, SOME OF US ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE LEARNT SUCH A LOT FROM OUR CHILDREN, SAT BACK AND ALLOWED THEM TO TEACH US, THAT THEY HAVE MADE US JUST A TINY BIT WISER, WITH A LITTLE SPRINKLING OF 'SPECIAL', THAN WE WERE BEFORE THEY WERE BORN...
Last week, after my reading of What to Say When a Baby is Born with Down's Syndrome at BritMums Live in London, this comment was left on my blog by another inspirational blogger @northernmum.
I was reduced to a sobbing wreck when reading it. Spiritual, but not formally religious, and somehow driven by an inexplicable inner hunger to change things for all our children, in my own way and in my own time. I've often said how it feels that this all found me and I now cannot stop.
Thank you Erma Bombeck for paying we special needs Mums, who do our very best and still feel guilty that it might not be right, the ultimate compliment.
Please sit down with a cuppa to read this one. You need to give it your full attention, and you may well cry again x
Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures and a couple by habit.
This year nearly 100,000 women will become mothers of handicapped children. Did you ever wonder how mothers of handicapped children are chosen? Somehow I visualize God hovering over earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As He observes, He instructs His angels to make notes in a giant ledger.
"Armstrong, Beth; son. Patron saint...give her Gerard. He's used to profanity."
"Forrest, Marjorie; daughter. Patron saint, Cecelia."
"Rutledge, Carrie; twins. Patron saint, Matthew."
Finally He passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a handicapped child."
The angel is curious. "Why this one God? She's so happy."
"Exactly," smiles God, "Could I give a handicapped child to a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."
"But has she patience?" asks the angel.
"I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wears off, she'll handle it."
"I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has his own world. She has to make him live in her world and that's not going to be easy."
"But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."
God smiles, "No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect -she has just enough selfishness."
The angel gasps - "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"
God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a "spoken word". She will never consider a "step" ordinary. When her child says "Mummy" for the first time, she will be present at a miracle, and will know it!"
"I will permit her to see clearly the things I see...ignorance, cruelty, prejudice....and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life, because she is doing My work as surely as if she is here by My side".
"And what about her Patron saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in mid-air. God smiles, "A mirror will suffice."