Drum Roll ... the winner is ....

Ladies, (you know who you are)

Thanks for visiting and entering the give-away!

I have to say that I love the way each of you is serving the Lord! You are bringing important, vital encouragement to those around you each and every day. You have brought encouragement to me through sharing how you are serving the Lord.

Now, drum roll please .... the winner of the Dayspring give-away is:

 Heather at High Heels and Scuffed Sneakers

You can visit her here, but I acutally loved this older post of hers and took the liberate to copy it here 'cause it was such a powerful post .... Congratulations Heather!

http://highheelsandscuffedsneakers.blogspot.com/

but I acutally loved this older post of hers and took the liberate to copy it here 'cause it was such a powerful post .... Congratulations Heather!


Saturday, December 5, 2009

Dawn

I went to see the movie, The Blind Side. I was greatly impacted because it reminded me of a personal story. The story is about a young man that receives unconditional love from an unsuspecting family. The young man, Michael, did nothing to deserve the love from the family... but most importantly the family did nothing to deserve the love from Michael. To know more about the movie, you'll have to watch (or you can read the book if you'd like). The movie impacted me differently than a regular viewer.... I would suspect that you may watch and hope that you had the opportunity to love someone like Michael or that your circumstances would allow your family to help others in a bigger way. However, for me, I have had the opportunity to give and receive love like the family in The Blind Side.

Here's my story:
When I was in the sixth grade, the Lord brought a homeless disabled woman in our lives. My mother was the first one to realize the magnitude of love that could be given by Dawn. After recently suffering from a miscarriage and realizing that God had called her to mother another child, my mama was open to the idea of helping someone in need. With an aching heart, my courageous mama invited Dawn into our home. The length of Dawn's stay with our family was unknown but mama was determined to keep her until she was safe.

When Dawn entered our home I did not know much about her past or her current situation. What I did know was that Dawn had suffered from a brain injury and had to take a lot of medicine. As a sixth grader, I also knew that my parents moved me out of my bedroom and made a make shift room in the garage of our home for me. When Dawn entered our home, we did not realize that we would have the pleasure of watching her develop into something that the doctors deemed impossible.

Since our time with Dawn, her medications have reduced significantly, her memory has improved and she has easily transitioned into part of our family. It has not always been the easiest road; financially, emotionally and mentally... but it's been the road that has been the most rewarding. Dawn has had many ups and downs-financially our family struggled to make sure that we were able to meet all of her needs. However, I will never regret the road we travelled to have her. Dawn is something so special!

Dawn calls me "Sissy". Actually, almost all of Dawn's friends call me "Sissy" now too. Dawn has the ability to make my heart smile like no one I have ever known. She does the funniest things. Her quirks make her special and make me love her more. Dawn's resilience is inspiring and her laugher is contagious. God gave my family a gift when they blessed us with Dawn.

After watching the movie The Blind Side and thinking about my own life experiences, I was reminded how special life can become when you reach out to others. I know that my family has done a great deal for Dawn by providing her with a life that she otherwise my not have had... However, I never fail to remember the things that Dawn has done for our family. She has molded us into the individuals that we are today. She has shaped the woman I am and taught me to love others not based on where they come from, what they look like or how they act. I have been shown that you truly can love people for what's on the inside... Try it sometime and see how you feel!