pickingwildflowers: a little girl named carly

One of the blogs I follow, and religously read, had some very sad news the other day.

There was a post that beared news concerning the family of another blog I follow. It didn't surprise me that I was informed on this particular blog about a completely different one. Those of you that use this way of networking and sharing testimony and story also know that there is some very close-knit groups on the interwebs. This community is sewn together by the special people who love and adore the exceptional lives of children and people with disabilities. So, when I saw one blog informing me of the other, I knew exactly what family it regarded.

Please pray for this family, who I have "come to know" over the past year. I always look forward to reading posts from the blogger, a mother of three children. She is 'mom' to a 22-year old girl, a 19-year old boy, and an 8-year old little girl.

I don't read her posts to know what life is like to mother a 22-year old girl and all the up's and down's that all that holds. I can ask my own mother or simply observe the relations between my friends and their parents. I read her blog because of the amazing story of the exceptional life of Carly,

her little girl who was born with Down syndrome.

I developed a love for Carly while I found myself being one of her biggest cheerleaders. It's like when you read a book and become so involved in it's pages, you feel as if you are a character yourself. The mother describes, with such honesty and genuinity, the life of parenting a little girl with Down syndrome.

I relate to this strong woman on so many levels even though I am not a parent myself. We both desire equality for all children, regardless of their development, and we both wish to raise awareness of the abilities that Carly and children like her are capable of, rather than the disabilities that, too often, label children like her. Carly's mother shares with readers the health issues that scare her and legislative concerns that parents like her have. Her story is real, inspiring, and impacting. Reading about Carly's life has truly touched me and made me all the more passionate about the plans I have for my life. Sadly, the life and story of this mother is suffering an incredible loss.

On Friday, April 23, Carly passed away.

The author of the blog where I found out about this heart-wrenching loss said that she found out from the facebook status of Carly's mother, Joany. There is no update on Joany's blog, so the cause of death is still unknown to me, but according to my other blogger-friend Joany's facebook status said Carly was very ill, turning blue, and 911 had been called. Her facebook account was later updated saying that she had lost her sweet girl and that Carly was now an angel.

What an angel she was during her short time on earth, and how comforting it is to know that she is with the Lord and in the arms of the wonderful God whom created her.

The God that created her and gave her a special chromosomal makeup for a reason and to fulfill His will in her life, in Joany's life, and in all the lives that are already, as well as those that will be, affected by her precious life.

Reading her story over the past several months has not only confirmed my dream to work closely with children like Carly in my professional way, but it has also confirmed the burning passion that I have to be a loving mother to a child with special needs. The loss of Carly has strongly affected my life, and I am only an on-looker of the things her mother decided to share with her readers. I can't possibly imagine the magnified amount of pain that her family is going through right now.

The joy I experience when working with children with Down syndrome is what would still have me to believe that Carly's family is a blessed group of people. Whether I spend five minutes or an entire semester of classroom time with children like Carly, I am a changed and better person for it and I think it is safe to assume that Joany, her husband, and Carly's older siblings would know what I mean by that. In her latest post, (none have been written since Carly died) Carly's mother said something that I believe whole-heartedly, and because I believe it whole-heartedly, I know that God has a special purpose for giving me the passion to adopt a baby with Down syndrome one day.

"There is a reason that Carly was born with Down syndrome. I don't know that reason, I may never know the reason. But that big guy upstairs knows. God has a plan. Whether it's to teach others the value of a particular person, make family more appreciative, or prove to families that they can, in fact, overcome various obstacles. I do not believe that having a child born with Down syndrome is a curse. It is a blessing. I've always known that."

I know that a lot of people do not understand this part of me. I sometimes don't understand why some people do what they do either, so I know how it is to not comprehend people's life choices. Someone who has never led a lost soul to the Lord probably doesn't understand, in the slightest form of fashion, why someone would go to a third-world country to be a missionary. I know why, because I understand what it is like to hear a calling from the Lord. My heart is filled with love for children like Carly because I know that God made it that way for a purpose and He tugged on it for many years before I finally saw what He was doing in my life. I firmly believe that my 'mission' is to not only work in the area of special education, but to love a special child with the special heart my God gave me.

To teach children in the classroom, but to also teach children of my own.

Teach them to love the Lord and guide them through the obstacles in life.

People didn't understand this passion of mine before I shared the sad news of Carly, and now maybe even more don't get why I would want to willingly adopt a baby with Down syndrome when I could adopt a baby without Down syndrome, or even more why I would even want to adopt a baby one day when I can, to all my knowledge, have children of my own when the time is right. But especially, why would I want to do that when the health issues surrounding a child with Down syndrome are personally realistic as I mourn the loss of a little girl I've read about for a few months? I understand the confusion of those.

I guess it is because of the smile I see in the pictures of Carly and because I believe Joany was given this child because God knew she would inspire others to love all of his precious creations.

I know that people who are blessed with the exceptional lives of these children are strong enough to endure things that others cannot because of the presence of God in their life that comes in the form of a precious child who happens to have an extra chromosome. Their abilities are touching and their lives are examples that God is great, children bring joy to the world, and that everything happens for a reason to carry out His powerful will.

Please pray for Joany and Paul and their two children, Ashleigh and Brad, as they mourn the loss of their precious Carly. If you are interested in making a donation to purchase a watercolor painting for Carly's family, please let me know!

These donations will help purchase a portrait of Carly

painted by Michael Johnson, an inspiring artist who has Down syndrome.