The Glance (Repost)

When Jack was six months old sitting in the front of the stroller, I found myself vulnerably searching for the reaction of others when they recognized that my baby had Down syndrome.  At that point on the journey, I still cared.  

As we were leaving the entrance, I looked up and saw a group of 3 middle school aged kids walking towards us.  I noticed the boy had Down syndrome and I assumed the girls were his sisters.  Then a few steps behind them was their mom.  As we both tried to hurry along behind our kids, she looked down and smiled at my boys.  After we passed each other, two steps in the opposite direction, we both turned and looked back at each other and I will never forget that glance and smile she gave me.  

It said all of these things…without saying a word…from one mother to another…a few years down the path from me…

You are going to be okay. 

Your life will be much more beautiful than you ever thought on this journey… 

You will not take little things for granted…

You’re much stronger than you ever thought…

You will have moments of being pushed, stretched, challenged, and broken and it will all be worth it because your child is worth it…

You will see the beauty in the process instead of focusing on the outcome… 

You will experience true joy.  Not just superficial happiness, but real deep joy…

Your good days will far outweigh the bad days… 

You will meet some amazing people on this journey including new families, therapists, teachers, and more… 

Your child will remind you of your purpose… 

Your child will remind you that every life has value… 

Your life will be changed for the better…

And there I was going up the elevator with my boys, tears streaming down my face, encouraged by a glance from a complete stranger.  Encouraged by a woman that didn’t say anything to me but assured me with her smile that life is good.  That we were going to be okay.    

There’s nothing better than having another person come alongside you on whatever journey you find yourself on and let you know they’ve been there and they know the path.  We are better together.  Although each journey is unique, we each have an opportunity to speak life (or death) into someone by our actions and words.  

How many times in our daily lives, do we really see people?  Who are we missing that could be encouraged by simply acknowledging them with a glance and a smile?