The Ark

People inquire how I have been doing having a newborn who has Down Syndrome. I tell them it feels like I am the bird Noah sent out of the ark to find dry land. The events that led to Eric's birth two months early felt very much like hearing the storm outside of the ark. Never had pre-term contractions that hospitalized me. Never had been flown to the nearest hospital for the NICU. Never had to deliver without any pain medication. Must have felt similar to the dove who had never seen an ark and who had never heard rain. All this time, not knowing how the story would end, but resting... in the ark, resting in God. And He carried us, protected us. Then the joyous sound of the storm ending, the thrilling sound of a baby's birth cry. The hard part is over, right? "Your son is healthy, but he has Down Syndrome". Survived the flood, but everything's changed. This world is new and different - so much to learn, so much to explore. As I am sent out to get the lay of the land, I come back with new information - some good, some frightening... but always having to return to the Ark. There is no other place for me to land. This world of Down Syndrome just doesn't feel like home yet. So here I am, waiting for the waters to recede and reveal what all God has planned for us.