Pounding the anvil

“There is no human experience which cannot be put on the anvil of a lively relationship with God and man, and battered into a meaningful shape.”

-Robert W. Kellemen

I ran across this quote and it was one of those "stop you in your tracks" kinda quotes.  I read it a few times and really let it soak into my brain... then slowly into my heart.  2011 was a big year for us.  In the same year, I gave birth to an 8lb precious little girl and handed her over to surgeons for cranial reconstructive surgery.  Big. Year.

During one particularly tough day of Mia's recovery, a sweet sister in Christ reminded me to "keep God your end point, not healing."  Those were tough words to swallow.  But I praise God that she reminded me to use this time to be shaped into His image so I can in turn reflect this back to Christ.  It was really a turning point for me.  Up until that moment I had been trying to appear to be strong on my own, but it sure was a whole lot easier when I let it go and allowed God to be my strength. 

Mia just turned 15 months old.  It was exactly a year ago when Dr. Good first had a hunch that she had craniosynostosis.  I cannot believe it has been a year.  As I am typing this I realized that I had not one time thought about her head today... and as crazy as that sounds, I have not been able to say that for a year now.  Each morning I woke up with thoughts of that head and went to bed with thoughts of that head. 

Mia had a great 15 month check up.  We hadn't seen Dr. Good since her 12 month appointment which made us realize that we had made it through the entire winter with NO sickness!  Praise God!  The moment he saw Mia, his eyes lit up and you could tell he could not wait to get into our room and see her.  After a round of hugs, he sat on the exam table and settled in to ask us a hundred questions about her progress.  We were excited to share the good news and show off that pretty pink scar.  Her scar is barely visible now.  It is now hidden behind a layer of pretty blonde hair and it only peeks out every now and then. 

After a weigh in, pokes and lots of questions, Dr. Good deemed Mia perfectly healthy and sent us away smiling ear to ear.  I love that my pediatrician celebrates my girls' good news as much as we do.  He is such a wonderful caring doctor and I am so blessed we were placed in his care.

 While we were chatting, Dr. Good mentioned that he had been told by several people that they had read my blog.  My prayer has always been that this blog would be a blessing to others.  If you are reading this blog because you have been personally affected by craniosynostosis, please know that I am praying for you.  Remember, God can use this journey to "batter you into a meaningful shape."  Just let the anvil do it's work.

Yes, I am this cute.