Ask.

EDIT: Thanks to the quick generosity of so many we have fully funded and ordered Sage her very own Zipzac. The love that was shown to my daughter really blew us away. We are so thankful and so humbled that she has such a wonderful and caring support system around her. I know she's going to need it as she continues to grow and develop. Thank you all for your care, your prayers, your support, and your generosity!

About a month ago a kind physical therapist let us borrow a Zipzac. And we fell in love with it.

Sage loved being low to the ground where she could reach her toys more easily. She loved using it to get into the cupboards in the kitchen. The first time she got into the cupboards I wanted to cry.

Best of all it positioned her in such a way that she opened her left hand more. My daughter has an extremely hard time keeping her left hand open, let alone using it. But when she was in the Zipzac she would randomly relax her left hand and place it on the wheel. It was very rare for her to actually use that hand to push the wheel, but just the fact that her left hand was open felt like a victory and a step in the right direction.

Best of all it enabled her some small bit of self determined movement. She couldn’t move far in it, and she mostly just used the right hand, but by the end of the month she got pretty good at scooting very small distances just maneuvering with the right wheel. Sometimes I would leave the room for a minute and come back to find that she had completely turned herself around, or that she had moved a foot or two in either direction. It always made me want to do a little happy dance when I saw that she wasn’t in exactly the same place that she was before.

Sage has a wheelchair, which has been wonderful, but it is much harder for her to move the wheelchair than the Zipzac. The zipzac is lighter, more maneuverable, and it takes less effort for her to propel the wheels forward or backwards.

All this to say, we really loved it and were so grateful for the chance to try it out.

Yesterday I had to return it so that another family could use it. I am glad that others are going to get to try it out, but I dragged my feet the whole way there. I wasn’t ready to give it back.

As I drove back home a simple word buzzed around my head and wouldn’t leave me alone…Ask. Ask. Ask. Ask.

So, I said a short prayer, “Lord, would you provide another Zipzac for Sage?”

And the word kept buzzing. Ask. Ask. Ask. Ask.

I don’t like talking about money. I don’t like asking for money. Or for help. Sage’s diagnosis, and Bryan’s, have given me much more practice at those things, but it’s still hard for me. I carry a lot of guilt.

Honestly, I have been blessed so much already, who am I to ask for more? I mean there are much larger needs in the world. There are people living on the streets who have nothing. There are children longing for homes. There are families starving. There are those who are thirsty and hungry and in prison. And here I am asking for another chair for my daughter when she already has a wheelchair and a highchair and a specially made foam positioning chair. There are children with special needs similar to my daughters in third world countries who would love just one of those things.

Ask. Ask. Ask. Ask.

There’s that word again. So, here I am. I’m asking, not for a zipzac. I’m asking for something much more. I’m asking you to listen. Take a second to listen to your heart, to that still small voice inside. What’s it saying? What makes it beat a little faster in sympathy?

When I mentioned children longing for homes did your breath catch in your throat? Listen to that and respond to it however you can.

When you hear about people living out in the cold without shelter, without home, does it make you shiver? What is that leading you to.

Do you ache for the hungry? Hurt for the sick? Have a tenderness for the lonely?

Does your heart go out to those with special needs like my daughter? Could you help with those who face the same problems in a very different environment? If that is your heart there is an organization I know of starting a special needs school and providing much needed support for special needs children in Africa. Maybe your heart is pulling you to partner with them.

Ask. Ask. Ask. Ask.

So, this is me asking you to listen. And respond wherever your heart is leading you today.

Ask. Ask. Ask. Ask.

And maybe, just maybe, my beautiful daughter is exactly who pulls on your heart. Maybe you want to be the one to give her abundantly more than she really needs or can ask for. If that’s the case we would love your help to raise the $1,100 dollars for a Zipzac. If you are interested in that there’s a link to my paypal at the bottom of every blog post. We would be so grateful.

Rejoicing in the journey, Bethany