HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEN!

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Sixteen candles today for Benjamin!
And what a year it's been-for Ben!

Sixteen sounds so simple and innocent...but for this soulful kid it has been the most revolutionary of rides. Hospitalization, recovery and back to reading, writing and arithmetic...It's enough to paralyze most people, but Ben is still going strong!

I marvel at Ben's tenacity...His grades are great...his attitude amazing and he's working hard to maintain the monumental strides he's made...against all the odds.

I'm just grateful Ben is alive and kicking...excited about getting his permanent drivers license and morphing back into the wonderful world of being a teen.

From the beginning there has never been a dull moment with Ben...I almost lost him-in the early weeks of pregnancy...Low on progesterone, I laid in bed for a week, bleeding profusely, praying unceasingly...willing him to live...Today-my will and his-are just as strong as ever!

Ben's a lot like me-he doesn't like to give up...or give in...But he's learning to surrender in trust to God...while making the necessary changes for a healthy, happy and more peaceful life.

Some sixteen year olds are trouble-Ben is simply a joy and a luminous gift...One of the bright candles in our family whose flame never ceases to brighten our days.

I don't know how his life's story will pan out...but I believe he is going to surprise us all-because there's something significant about Ben-all sixteen years of him!

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