Faith Through the Journey

After I finished my last posting, I discovered that I had forgotten to mention something, or someone,VERY important! I mentioned that I had the blessing of having children in 1984 and 1986, before I had the recurrence of what has become a marathon of Crohn’s Disease episodes. One of the things the doctors wanted me to do in 1988 when I had my first surgery was to have a tubal ligation at the same time. In faith, my husband and I said “no” to that and we were tremendously blessed in 1990 with a precious little girl. She was a special affirmation that God was indeed very gracious and that He had given us a wonderful gift. I cannot imagine our lives without our sweet Courtney. She is somewhat like me in that she isVERY determined, very driven to accomplish goals and doesn’t settle for anything less than her best efforts. Because she and I spent time alone after her brother and sister had left home for college and my husband was on the road for work, she was my caregiver more than once. She saw me through some difficult times when I was very sick and she had to help my husband at home when I was hospitalized or unable to get out of bed. She is mature beyond her years and has learned to handle many situations that required her to take responsibility for herself and others.

Courtney and I were home together when we lost our 14-year-old dog, Casey, who had been Courtney’s best friend and protector from the day she joined our household in 1992. We helped each other through that, and in August of that year Courtney chose our new family pet, Riley, from the animal shelter. Riley faithfully “guards” Courtney’s bed in her absence, and all I have to do is say her name and Riley stands at the front door waiting for Courtney to come home. No matter what Riley does, Courtney always forgives and loves her (I have some moments when she’s NOT my favorite dog!). We are a complete family with our special gift, Courtney, and are so thankful God gave her to us!