Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Joy from the Sorrow

If you are looking for evidence of a miracle on this earth, point your gaze toward Arlington, Virginia. There, little Susan Anne Catherine Torres was born yesterday weighing 1 pound 13 ounces. Her mother, Susan Torres, suffers from cancer. She has had no brain function and has been on life support since May. Yet, her weak and fragile body allowed her baby daughter to grow and develop for three months. And while the family grieves because the elder Susan probably won't live very much longer, they also rejoice because Baby Susan is doing well and will hopefully live a long and full life. Beauty from ashes. Life from no life.

My heart was most touched by Baby Susan's father Jason, who quit his job to stay near his wife and baby and slept in a recliner chair in their hospital room. It's my guess that Jason knows, as many of us do, that his parenting began far before his baby girl was born. And where else could he be...this is his family. How bittersweet to be there to share in the first precious moments of his daughter's life and the last precious moments of his wife's.

If you can find a quiet moment in your day today, say a prayer for the Torres family. I know I will.

Thanks for listening.

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