Hindsight

In my day turning fifteen generally meant getting a driving permit and a car.  Unlike my friends, I turned fifteen and got my first pair of glasses and a permit that said the glasses were a required accessory.  As I am sure you are aware, the intent of glasses is to help those who are visually impaired bring their vision as close to 20/20 as possible.  Much like glasses help you to see more clearly, the old saying is also true; Hindsight is 20/20.  

As we stepped back into the halls of the hospital this weekend I was reminded of all the things that have come together to bring us to this point in life.  A lot of those things didn't make sense at the time.  Many of the foster parent training sessions that we sat through were for services Reese didn't need and probably won't ever need.  Brinkley, however, will need most of those services and I would not have been aware of them or know how to go about getting them without those sessions.  All of the waiting and dealing with government agencies to complete our adoption was preparing us for all the red tape that we have to work through to get the government assistance Brinkley needs.  

Building a support network of adoptive families prepared me for seeking out a support network of special needs families.  Getting out of debt last spring has helped us stay afloat with the medical bills we have incurred.  (The before insurance portion is quickly reaching the million dollar mark.)   The Clary family was brought into our lives and we are blessed to have their wisdom and experience with their own medically complex child to help us navigate this journey.  

The longer we walk this journey the more things we see that have been preparing us.  Each day little things happen that are just what I need for later that day or week.  I would like to encourage you ladies out there to check out this resource: 

This was the best $5 I have spent in a while.  These 10 minute "talks" have been right on target for me lately.  (I plan to look for full length copies of some of these talks.)  They are perfect for taking advantage of those few minutes of quiet time in the car after you drop the kids off at school.  I bought this before Christmas, but in all of our craziness I just found it and pulled it out a couple of weeks ago.  It couldn't have been more timely.  Several of these have really challenged me.  That challenge was just what I needed at this time in my life.  

This period is tough right now, I'm not going to lie.  It is exciting though.  It probably sounds crazy, but it's exciting to think what our current circumstances may be preparing us for.  It's my hope that soon I'll look back and see that we have been able to help another family on this journey.  After all, hindsight is 20/20.