His Amazing Grace

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Today is my youngest’s birthday!  Wow… how time keeps flying by.  I know if your home is filled with little ones it doesn’t feel that way today, but it’s like I’ve blinked and they’ve grown up.  Today and every year on her birthday I share something non diy, home decor or recipe.  Since I started blogging  I’ve been sharing about the miracle we witnessed at her birth.

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook I’m sure you’ve seen this cutie!  She has many nicknames but the one we call her most is Jujubee.   This girl is hilarious!  She is super witty and loves creating new lyrics to the songs we’re listening to in the car… bringing us to tears from laughing so hard many times.  She definitely has the gift of help.  She loves to be involved and to be able to help others.  She is a sweetie… loves gymnastics… making new friends at her siblings sporting events… she fits perfectly in our family.

When I was pregnant with her we went for our routine 20 week ultrasound and were completely shocked when the ultrasound tech told us she had double clubbed feet.  Our oldest was born with a right clubfoot (this is where the foot is turned in sharply and the person seems to be walking on their ankle).  We have no family history of clubfeet so when I was pregnant with our 2nd kiddo, we did some genetic testing in which they thought it was just a fluke since there was no sign as to why it occurred.

So when we were pregnant with baby #3 I honestly hadn’t really thought about it.  Our second was born with 2 normal feet… the genetic experts thought all was good.

As I was lying on the table the ultrasound tech showed us the close-up shot of her feet.  A flood of emotions and memories hit me.   I remembered the x-ray pics of my son… the toes turned in and the heel raised and now I was seeing it again.   I was overwhelmed with emotions… How could we go through this again?

If you were see my son today, you would never know of the trauma he went through the first 18 months of his life… he doesn’t even remember.  They never noticed his clubfoot during the 20 week ultrasound, so we were in compete shock when he was born.  As a first-time mom I was overwhelmed just trying to figure out the “Mom” job and now I was needing to figure out how we were going to help my son with his birth defect.

Thankfully we were referred to the best pediatric orthopedic specialist in our area.  At 2 weeks old he had his first full leg cast put on.  Each week we’d come back as they would cut it off (which he’d scream for) and the Dr. would gently manipulate his tiny foot a little in the correct direction and recast.  The first 3 days after his cast was put on were miserable as his foot was aching from the new position.  This continued till he was almost 6 months old… when he went to a brace.  At 9 months old his Dr. told us that the cast and brace had manipulated his foot to the correct position, but his heel still had not dropped.  At 10 months old he had surgery where they made snips in his Achilles tendon to lengthen it.  Surgery was followed by casts for the next 2 months and then a brace for another 3 months… it was a long first couple years of life.

So when we heard the news about my daughter I didn’t know how I could walk through that again!  I was overwhelmed… but I knew instantly that her middle name would be Grace, because I was desperately in need of God’s grace to do this again.  My husband on the drive home said … “we’re going to pray that God heals her!”

And we did… family and friends prayed… our church prayed.

I knew God was more than capable of healing her.  I’ve grown up going to church every Sunday… I’d been on mission trips and seen miracles… I’ve read through the bible numerous times and know of all the miracles Jesus did… BUT it was hard for me to believe He was going to do it for me. For me it was easier to just plan for the worst and let a small part of me believe in the best.

Then… one Sunday in church… a few weeks before she was born we were singing “How Great is Our God” by Chris Tomlin and I heard Him speak to my spirit that He was going to heal her so that people would know how great He is!

In the days that followed my faith fluctuated… did I really hear Him?  Maybe I just had that famous pregnancy heartburn?  Pregnancy hormones?

On the morning of July 19th I had a stress test at the hospital (I was going between 3-5 times a week because of low amniotic fluids).  The nurse didn’t like the way she was responding to contractions, so I was staying and going to have her that day.  She was breech so I had to have a C-section. When the Dr. pulled her out I heard the miraculous words I was hoping to hear… “well look at that…

her feet are perfect!”

So each year on her birthday I will write about God’s miraculous hand that healed our daughter’s feet!

Maybe you’re in need of a miracle in your life right now.  Sometimes in our life God rescues us from our circumstances and other times He miraculously takes us through those tough situations.  Either way God’s grace is abundant!

Today I want you to know how much God loves you and to remind you how great He is.  Whatever the circumstance… I know that with God all things are possible.  I know that sickness, financial issues, relationships, disobedient children… you name it…

it’s not too big or too hard for GOD.

God graciously healed my daughter, but even if He hadn’t… His grace would have carried us through. just as He did with our son.

And we can’t forget… Happy Birthday to our sweet JuJubee!