Dear Gideon,

It’s hard to believe we are here. When you were born no one knew what was wrong with you. Your abnormalities didn’t add up to anything the doctors had ever seen; but it was clear that you were unique.

You were so unique that it took 7 months before someone could finally diagnose you. And when that day finally arrived, they didn’t give you much time. Your projected life expectancy was less than one year.

But here we are.

Today you are 5 years old.

Everything about your life has been unexpected. Your life has brought about a range of emotions that I never knew existed. I’ve experienced some of the highest of highs and the lowest of lows with you as my son. I spent the first 9 months of your life burying all the dreams that a mother has for her son, only to turn around and realize that my dreams for you were small and insignificant when I saw what the Lord was doing with your life. You impact people in a way that we never could have imagined.

There are some who have told us through various outlets that you shouldn’t be here. That because you can’t see or hear, your life is a waste. All because you will never experience all that life has to offer. But your dad and I know that that couldn’t be farther from the truth. You have more joy in your whole being than most of us will ever experience in an entire lifetime…even with all 5 of our senses.

You show the world a new way to experience life. B.J. Neblett wrote that, we are the sum total of our experiences. When people experience you, whether in person or through social media, they are not the same. People are better for having known you. And I’m not just mom bragging on you. People tell us this all the time.

We choose to believe that you, Gideon, were created to better the rest of us. To gift us a new experience lest we wallow in self-pity and selfishness. We need to be confronted daily with the realization that joy doesn’t come from what we have or what we don’t have. Rather our joy is in the Lord and the hope that we have in Him.

We know your life has great purpose and we find great joy and great responsibility in being your parents.

Happy 5th Birthday Gideon!

Love,

Mom, Dad, Laynie & Josiah