"You are so blessed that Ayden Jane is doing so well." I hear this quote a LOT. Yes, it is wonderful and yes I am thrilled with how great AJ is doing. I don't want to sell any of that short, but I have had a constant thought bouncing around in my head.
Do Ayden Jane's abilities to talk and run and jump and be, well, 'typical' 3 mean that I am blessed? Or maybe I should ask, would I be any less blessed if Ayden Jane were not talking and running and jumping? What is the meaning of blessed? Is it when things turn out well?
Here is what dictionary.com has to say on the matter.
-adjective
1. consecrated; sacred; holy; sanctified:
2. worthy of adoration, reverence, or worship
3. divinely or supremely favored; fortunate
4. blissfully happy or contented
5. bringing happiness and thankfulness
Let's see. I am pretty sure option 1 does not apply! Or maybe it does in the sense that we are all created as such in God's eyes, but our skills certainly have nothing to do with it. Option 2 makes me uncomfortable as sometimes I feel like there is a bit of feeling like I have done something special that makes all of this happen. Now, I am all for Ayden Jane's success causing others to see God as worthy of adoration, reverence and worship. Option 3? Hmmm. Quite the conflict. I do feel fortunate that AJ is so capable, but at the same time is it fortunate that she has PWS? How does that make us supremely favored? Because we have less struggle with a genetic disorder? Option 4. I will say that there is a part of Ayden Jane that is blissfully happy and content. She has also made all of us learn a lot about contentment and what really matters. This has definitely led to some blissfully happy moments. Finally, option 5. Wow. Bringing happiness and thankfulness. Obviously, we are blessed.
So, are we "blessed that Ayden Jane is doing so well?" Yes, but not so much because of what she is doing or not doing, but because she is a blessing. Just like for all of our kids. They are not blessings dependent upon what they do or do not do well. We are divinely favored to be the parents of holy creations of a God who is worthy of adoration and we are thankful for the happiness they bring. Yep. We are truly blessed!
Amen! I totally understand. I feel it on the opposite end when I hear people saying it about kids like AJ and not about Dean. I'm like, 'Wait, hey, we're blessed too!' And like you said, it's because Dean is a blessing. Truly. I don't know what I would do without him! It's good for us to think about what this means and realize what it really means for something to be a blessing. You nailed it. :)
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