I Remembered

She was waving her pompoms...hopping up and down...spinning in circles...her ponytail bobbing with a life all its own...wearing a smile that was two miles wide.  All I could do was give thanks.

It was the first official game day for our local Upwards endeavor...a gym filled to the brim with families, basketball players and cheerleaders.  As I watched the six-year-old bounce along with her squad, I couldn't help but remember this same day last year.

We were barely a month past a car accident in which one of her vertebrae was fractured, landing her in a form-fitting, rigid, plastic back brace.  I remembered the initial fears and questions as her diagnosis and prognosis unfolded.  I remembered  her attitude and fortitude rising way above what I expected when we first met her new accessory.  I remembered the motherly caution and concern I felt as we walked into her first cheer leading practice.  I remembered watching as some of her movement, in comparison to her teammates, was restricted.  I remembered hoping her uniform would fit over the brace.

And yesterday, as I watched her bend to and fro shouting "We've got spirit...yeah, yeah!", I remembered to give thanks...thanks for healing...thanks for what happened...thanks for what didn't happen...thanks for lessons learned...thanks for blessings revealed.

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18