Dreams come true

Our Kachi was recently diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. (I wrote about it in October, if you're looking for a post with more details.) As part of an assignment at school, he did a research project about it, and he read about the increased risk of sudden death.  As you can imagine, this threw him for a loop. He's struggling a lot with anxiety and fear, fear of another medical emergency and possible surgery and fear of dying.

We were talking about it at bedtime and he started to choke up. "You would be so sad," he said, "your heart would break." This precious kid was worried - not about himself, but about how I would feel if he died.

And I remembered a wise question I have been told to ask whenever I encounter a thought: is it true? So I asked it. Would my heart break? Would despair win? and then answered -

"I am already so so happy, because I have you," I told him, "you have already been a dream come true, and an answer to prayers. Even if the worst should happen, you have been more wonderful and more glorious and more dear than I ever hoped for."

"Is that true?" he asked, "what other dreams have come true? What other prayers have been answered?"

And I lay beside him, tears streaming down my face, as I thought of all the gifts I am awash in.

Patrick. 

Each of my extraordinary kids, individually, and also collectively, who they are: quiet, strong Sam; vivacious Vava; tender Kachi; quicksilver Pascal.

This home.

You, my jewels of friends.

My job, my joy-giving, heart-stretching job.

That time I looked up and saw swans flying low overhead, trumpeting like silver in the moonlight.

My roots - my parents and aunts and uncles and cousins and all their stories.

Eevee.

Jesus.

Dreams come true.

Answers to prayers.

Kachi, of course, didn't know us before we were parents. He doesn't know what a dream come true he is. When Patrick and I waited years for a baby and never had one, when we did fertility treatments and miscarried, and miscarried again, my heart's daily cry and longing was for a family to raise. "Please God," I asked, "please God." 

Before Jesus came, Israel was awaiting the Messiah. They read the prophecies, they longed for the one who would set the captives free, the one who would give sight to the blind, the prince of peace. "Please God," they begged, "please God."

And God heard their cries, and God knew.

And he sent us a Saviour, Christ the Lord. 

And we live on the other side of that dream come true, and maybe it doesn't always hit us with such an impact, what sort of astonishing grace it was that he sent Jesus because he's been in the background of our history and our culture for thousands of years.

But when the angels announced his arrival, they declared, Good news of great joy for all people. 

God with us.

A dream come true.

May your hearts rejoice in all your good gifts, my friends.

Merry Christmas.

Xo.