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Ballet Blessings

    Bleeding Heart DSC_7377

    This weekend my oldest granddaughter had her ballet recital and since they are very far away, we couldn’t go. My daughter sent us a video of it so we could see Ali dance.  I was in the garage, helping my husband when the video came through on my phone.
    We pulled it up to watch, and on the screen were about a dozen little girls, dressed like music box ballerinas, with a music box song playing.
    And we watched her.
    And I wept.
    Sobbed.
    Great big shoulder shaking tears, with a smile on my face.

    Because she was dancing.

    Because while watching this video of this sweet girl dancing on stage,
    I was remembering when I met her.
    She was a week old and had just been diagnosed with HLHS (Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome).
    I remembered the night before we had to leave to come back home, sitting in her hospital room, holding her – all 5 pounds of baby and more tubes and wires than I knew what to do with.

    I was rocking her, not knowing what was going to happen in the coming months,
    and I prayed.
    I Prayed. So. Hard.

    I prayed she would live.
    I prayed that God would allow her to receive a new heart.
    I prayed for the donor family.
    I prayed that we’d be able to watch her grow up.
    I prayed that she would survive.
    And I knew even then, that God doesn’t always answer our prayers with a Yes.
    But I prayed so desperately that He would this time.

    And now, here we are, almost 6 years later.
    And she’s dancing.
    Dancing.
    I didn’t even think to pray for that.

    What a blessing it was to watch her, on my tiny phone screen, a thousand miles away.
    Dancing.