09/03/2026
This is us. A family of five. Before everything. Blue skies, the ocean and sand - all of the Lord’s gifts at our feet. We were happy and young and pretty naive. We were living out life as we had planned. We thought we were in charge. Goals and dreams and all the things. Pain certainly wasn’t one of them.
A few years later from the time this photo was taken, our perfect plans changed. Those plans were relinquished to God. Only He knew every joy that had come and every heartbreak that was on the way. He knew the child He had given would also be taken away. He knew the youngest sister would become the first to go home. God knew all the beauty AND all the breaking would alter us.
We are a different family now. We have experienced a grief that consumed us, grace that saved us and a renewal that sustains us.
Do I ever dream of going back to that family by the ocean? Yes yes yes a million times over. But that’s not the plan. Because our God has given us something far more precious than the little life we planned and once dreamed of. He has given us all of Him. A treasure that never fades on this side of Heaven. And sweet Willie is waiting on the other side with a grin so big and arms wide open.
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month. Zen Hen will be featuring various events and items all month long. The more we know, the more we can do. Better together.