Navy Chaplain: A Story: A letter to my four year old, Isabella

Dearest Isabella,

Today, you turn four years old! We want you to know how deeply we love you little Bellsy. We also desire for you to know the depths to which your Father in heaven loves you. He formed you in my womb, gave you beautiful blue eyes, the silly nature of your momma, and the stubbornness of your daddy (wink). He picked us for you, and we couldn't imagine life without you! We feel like it was yesterday when we first laid eyes on you! I (Annie) held you in my arms (for a second) and kissed your face. I shed many joyful tears on the day of your birth, but I also shed tears of concern for your seemingly fragile little life. When you were born, the look in your fathers eyes confused me... he was the happiest I've ever seen him yet the most unsure and frightened as well. He would later tell me he was waiting to see you breathe to be sure you were alive. We (your father and I) feared for your life while you spent your first weeks in an incubator at the NICU. We prayed over you, sang songs to you, and went to bed at night wishing you could have come home from the hospital with us. I couldn't sleep (or do anything for that matter) without thinking of you....and I would make someone drive to the hospital every feeding so that your first moments of life outside the incubator would be with me, your mother.

Here you are being filmed by the happiest daddy in the world. He wanted so badly to hold you I'm sure of it!

So much time has passed since your arrival and God has grown you into a beautiful little lady. This year we experienced a miracle. This year God allowed you to speak to us....I mean really say words! Bella, you are perfect with or without words but, we praise God for the opportunity to communicate with you! We often wondered if autism would keep you from using the words that were stored up in your brain. But being the fighter that you are, you did it....you spoke! We can't wait to see what God has in store for you, my dear. One day, I want us to look back on this post and be reminded of how far you've come (and you have come far). You work harder than any 4 year old I know! You teach me patience, unconditional love, and you remind me that God is in control of all things, at all times. You are my hero.