A Mother’s Hope on Mother’s Day

by with No Comment AllHappy Mother's Day 2019hopeHopelessnessMom of Special Needs Kids

A Mother’s Hope on Mother’s Day

Baby Hope was examined by LWR’s surgical team in the early part of 2019. Hope’s parents sat by with much heartache and sorrow. Sharmila, her mother, would not look at anyone in the eyes. The tears seemed to be never-ending from her eyes. We never heard her speak that first day.

Hope had successful bilateral cleft lip repair at the end of February. Hope’s mother still sat silently. She would not stay in the room, when others came to visit her baby.

I met her late April for the first time in Bangalore. She pulled up her chair, sat with us, and began to speak. Santhosh was astonished. “This is the first time I have seen you sit and speak to anyone. What has happened?”

She explained the torment and guilt and anxiety that had plagued her since baby Hope was born. She could not bear to see the faces of people who came to visit baby Hope. She could not talk. She would open her mouth, but no words would come. She would weep incessantly. Anxiety plagued her. She told us that she constantly felt overwhelmed and unable to speak. She did not want to unload on her husband, feeling that he did not need any more burdens. No one could help her.

But when Santhosh shared the passage of John 9 with her, the feelings of guilt began to lift.  In that passage, Jesus answers a question that troubles parents even today.  The disciples asked Jesus, “Who sinned, that this man was born blind?” pointing at the blind man on the side of the road.  Jesus response is beautiful.  “It was not the sin of his parents, or of this man,  he was born this way so that God’s glory would be manifest.”  The passage that had ministered to Santhosh and myself 19 years ago,  still burns in us.  It is a message of hope and comfort to the many parents we have ministered to over the years.  

Sharmila told us that after her child’s surgery, she began to transform.  Instead of tears, she carried the oil of gladness.  Instead of wearing heaviness, she wore a garment of praise.  The message of John 9 had literally given her HOPE.   

She is a beautiful mother of courage, strength and resilience.  We honor all our mother’s today for their boldness, their heart to persevere in spite of the heartaches.  Our mothers all give us hope to move forward!  

Happy Mother’s Day! 

filed under: Happy Mother’s Day 2019, hope, Hopelessness, Mom of Special Needs Kids

A Table in the Wilderness

by with No Comment AllInspirational

A Table in the Wilderness

Thank goodness for February!  No, I’m not excited about Valentine’s Day, though chocolate is one of my best friends.  I’m just ready to move on ahead and forget the past few months.

A question from the writer of Psalm 78, “Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?” (Psalm 78:19) was echoing in our home over the last several months.  

I mean, really. When you are scraping the bottom of the barrel, in a dry and desperate place of sorrow and pain, can God furnish a table?

Philip had a successful eyelid surgery, and his recovery after anesthesia was smooth. However, we still do not have a prosthetic eye or ear. There is talk by our surgeon of possibly having cosmetic surgery to help and support his cheek musculature that would in turn support the lower eyelid. WHY? Why can’t his newly repaired eyelid hold his prosthetic eye? Or better yet, we have prayed for a real eye and a real ear. Why does he need to struggle through this?

The Zimbabwe medical mission planned for February had to be postponed due to the civil unrest and other issues the country is facing at this moment. Patients who were ready for secondary surgery after last year’s primary surgery waited for this date. WHY? Why is there a delay on this?

Multiple other issues related to family, to business, to staffing and organization, and in this wilderness experience, can a table be furnished by God?

The answer came in Psalm 23, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil, my cup runs over.  Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

This isn’t an easy walk through life, my friends.  We were never promised that.   However, we were promised that “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, because You are with me…“

Be encouraged, and keep pressing forward. Even in this dreary and lonely time, you have One who will never leave your side. People will fail you, but He will NEVER fail you!

Blessings,

Susan

A Look Back and Celebration of 10 years

by with No Comment AllUncategorized

A Look Back and Celebration of 10 years

It was on Friday, August 8, 2008 that Santhosh, Philip and I made our way to the Children’s Hospital for Philip’s simple flap repair. This would be a 45-minute same day surgery, and we would be discharged home later in the afternoon.But in that span of…

Craniofacial Acceptance Month

September is Craniofacial Acceptance Month, and I asked Philip what that meant to him. His response was that everyone deserves respect and dignity, no matter what they look like. It isn’t easy to walk around with a facial birth defect, with scars on…

Inaugural Mission to KENYA!

As I was searching for the final numbers and data collected from the recent mission to Kenya, I could not find any updates on the website. It has been such a busy few weeks since we returned from Kenya, that I did not even blog about it!Thirty-one members made…

Milestones and Memories

LWR had a “celebration” tour of sorts in celebrating the milestone 10 years in Chattanooga, TN and also in Elmont, New York! We could be coming to a city near you, keep your eyes peeled!One of the featured young men during these events was young Harsha…

Promises Made, Promises Kept

The tears have been endless for the past month. I can’t believe it has been one month, since my baby boy passed from this world. I miss him so much. No parent should bury their child. It should always be the children who pick the coffin and make the funeral…

Love Reading about Christmas Miracles!!

Love Reading about Christmas Miracles!! Don’t you LOVE Christmas miracles? I’ll tell you one about a poor husband and wife who lived outside of Bangalore, India in a rural village. They had a happy dream of a new baby to be added to their family….

Love Reading about Christmas Miracles!!

by with No Comment AllUncategorized

Love Reading about Christmas Miracles!!

Love Reading about Christmas Miracles!!

Don’t you LOVE Christmas miracles?

I’ll tell you one about a poor husband and wife who lived outside of Bangalore, India in a rural village. They had a happy dream of a new baby to be added to their family. All their goals, all their wishes were placed in the future of this new life.

Fast forward nine months, and baby boy Rehan was born! But the mother wept when she saw Rehan for the first time. His lip was separated in two sections of his mouth. He was born with a bilateral cleft lip.

The father wept when he saw Rehan. And he returned to his hard labor job to earn his $2 a day. The grandmother also tried to pitch in by earning from some street vending job. It would be many years before this family would be able to afford a cleft repair for baby Rehan. He would have to live in humiliation, grow up ostracized from his peers.

When Rehan turned 8 months old this December, his parents learned about a free medical camp for those born with facial birth defects. They met the Love Without Reason team of professionals, and soon Rehan was scheduled for surgery. The 500th surgery for Love Without Reason!

The journey to this Christmas miracle has been revolving in my mind for days.  In December 2007, Santhosh and I had no idea of the work involved in forming and running a nonprofit.  We spent the next 5 years researching, studying, learning from mistakes, and working hard.  In 2012,  the first surgeries began in Bangalore.  In  April 2014, I resigned my job as a nurse practitioner to work full-time for LWR, (meaning un-paid at this time)!  I wondered many times if I had truly heard from God, or if I had imagined everything.  My answer came in the summer of 2014, when LWR had not yet celebrated the 100th patient.  I cuddled a one-month old baby boy born with a cleft lip.  The young mother, with tears in her eyes, asked me, “Why did this happen to me?   What did I do wrong?”   And in my spirit, I heard God say, “You asked me the same questions when Philip was born.  Now, you know what to say to wipe her tears away.”

And now, thanks to our donors, supporters and prayer warriors alike, the LWR team will continue to wipe the tears of parents of children like Rehan. Giving. Loving. When they could never possibly pay you back. It’s one of many 2018 Christmas Miracles!!

Click below to hear Rehan’s story! #500thStory

https://www.facebook.com/LoveWithoutReasonUSA/videos/377849873019558

Do His Promises Still Stand?

by with No Comment AllBlogs

Do His Promises Still Stand?

I watched Philip roll his backpack across the parking lot, after I dropped him off at the McCallie School. By the time I curved around the parking lot, I could see him carrying his backpack up the flight of stairs to get out of the parking lot and up to the buildings for his first class. I knew that he would have to climb a few more flights of stairs in the building to get to his classroom, and he would do that throughout the day in various buildings on campus. I remember that first day of high school in August 2015 as if it was yesterday. My prayer that day was for Philip’s spine and diagnosis of scoliosis.

“God, I’m just asking for this one thing.  He has to spend four years on this campus, then college.  He can’t just roll a backpack everywhere.  He needs a spine that is straight and strong, a body that is fit so that he can carry things and walk without hindrance.  Help him, heal him today.”

The days, months and years have passed and now he’s in his senior year at the school, and still with the same struggle.  I mean, what have I missed?  What’s wrong with my prayer?  God, do you hear me?

And in this season, I know and I put my trust in God’s Word, because frankly, there’s no other place that will hold me.  Yet, I’m still waiting.  And I don’t understand.  Does His promise still stand?  I teach my kids to study, to meditate and memorize the Word, but I’m still waiting for a Promise to be fulfilled.  Everything I see makes me think that I’m circling the drain and that it will all end, but Does His Promise Still Stand?  

Aaaagh, it’s so easy to say these words, but when everything around you and everything you experience with your senses tells you a hard and difficult story, I pray that you and me will cling to the One whose Words will never fail.  He cannot fail in His Word.  Isaiah 55 tells us that His Word is like the rain that comes down from the heavens and does not return to the heavens, but waters the earth, makes it bring forth, bud, give nourishment.  His WORD is just like that!!  It will accomplish what it is called to accomplish, and not simply return void back to the Father.  His Promise Still Stands.  

And as for Philip, I know the Promises spoken over him will come to pass.  I can understand what I see in the physical, but what I see in the spiritual, and what I know from His Word, that the things that are impossible for man, is possible with My God– this is what I hold to, and renew my mind with daily.

A friend had sent this link to me weeks ago about the story behind the song “Do It Again.” Watch and enjoy! Remember His Promise Still Stands!

With love and prayers,

Susan

McCallie School joins with Love Without Reason

by with No Comment AllMcCallieSchool

During the parent teacher meetings of Philip’s freshman year at the McCallie School, we were told that there would be an opportunity for the upcoming seniors to lead an international mission trip. Even though we kept this in our hearts, we did not know if Philip would get the approval to lead a group of students on a trip to India. During his junior year, interest developed, and a proposal was submitted. An expensive proposal! International airline tickets during the summer months are expensive, not to mention tourist sights and resorts! However, the proposal was accepted, and a total of 8 men signed up for the trip!

The culture, the smells, the sounds and the images will forever be imprinted in the minds of these young men. One young man made a recording in front of the Taj Mahal, “Mom, I’ve seen one of the 7 Wonders of the World, and I did it before you did!!” As they looked over the slums from the Project Butterfly center in Mumbai where women sold into trafficking learn basic education skills and the sewing trade, one young man shared, “This place is like a diamond in the rough.” So much ugliness and horror on the outside, but as you meet and see the children and young people living here, you see the beauty of those created in the image of God.

The young men will end their tour with a visit in the city of Bangalore. Here, they will have the opportunity to attend an LWR medical camp. They will meet patients who are recovering from their successful surgery. They will also see the process of screening for new patients who come to the medical camp.

There is much work to be done. There is a place for everyone to be involved in turning #BeautyFromTheAshes!! Perhaps you can give financially to support a surgery for a child, perhaps you can donate your printing services for an LWR newsletter. Whatever it is, get involved and make the impact that will change the future of a child forever!! www.crowdrise.com/cleftsurgeries www.lovewithoutreason.net

Because every child matters!

Susan

filed under: