God-Confident Kids by Cyndie Claypool de Neve

Author:Cyndie Claypool de Neve
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Parenting;Parenting—Religious aspects—Christianity;Child rearing—Religious aspects—Christianity;Self-confidence—Religious aspects—Christianity;Self-confidence in children;REL012030;FAM034000;REL012110
ISBN: 9781493419180
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2019-07-30T00:00:00+00:00

8

Helping Youth Find Their Purpose and Passion

When my nephew Harley was just eighteen months old, he had his first seizure. But that didn’t keep him down. He was growing into an energetic, smart, quick-witted boy whose smile and big eyes could brighten the weariest soul. But then came another seizure. And another. Soon the seizures began to define his life.

At age four, he was placed in a medically induced coma to help stop the onslaught of seizures. Horrifyingly, when the time came to bring him out of the coma, he wasn’t waking up. My sister, a single mom, had to make the most difficult decision of her life up to that point—to take him off life support. As his small body lay on the big white bed, he was surrounded by hospital personnel as they took the cords of life from his limp body. But then he slowly opened his eyes. His favorite nurse walked into the room and his eyes followed her. She asked, “Are you looking at me?” And a faint smile came across his mouth. Harley was alive. But he was not the same.

The once very articulate boy had to relearn how to talk, walk, and be a kid. He spent months in the hospital and then in rehab. My sister was told his severe seizure disorder, Lennox-Gastaut, would limit his life expectancy and that he would not live to see his teenage years, much less adulthood. However, at age twenty-five, he’s a constant reminder that God answers prayer and that even those with the toughest lives have a purpose. Harley and my sister Colleen would prefer not to ever be in the hospital, but on their many extended stays is when they are able to share Christ’s love with both hospital staff and other families. And Harley’s smile—albeit toothless from so many seizures—still lights up a room.

Was Harley handcrafted by a loving God on purpose for a good purpose? He certainly was. His life and the difficult life of his selfless mom have impacted so many, pointing them to the grace and love of Christ. He’s a living testimony that even difficulties in our lives and seemingly impossible circumstances allow God to cause “all things to work together for good” (Rom. 8:28 NASB).

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