While I was not there the day you were born, that day will never again go unnoticed. One year ago, they said you might not make it to the next. This time last year your poor, sweet body struggled for life. While in God's perfect plan, your brain hemorrhaged and spinal fluid collected. While your young mother went into unexplained labor, they said you might not survive. They said that if you did survive you there were no guarantees as to your future. They said on a spectrum of normal to cerebral palsy you were probably in the middle somewhere and eluded that your future seemed bleak. They said you could be severely delayed and that you were medically fragile. They wrote what they thought would be your story. In all of their medical knowledge they couldn't possible imagine what an impact you would have and will still have, by God's mercy.
You underwent much medical turmoil in your early days from monitors to incubators and from hospital to hospital only to finally land in the most unlikely of places; our home. Little did we know that June 1st would become one of the most precious days of our life. This time a year ago we were pursuing a little girl an ocean and several continents away. Our heart was to give a home to a little girl who was unwanted by society. Her health condition brought with it a stigma of fear and misinformation, but we wanted her just the same. We were devastated when God's ways were not our own. Then you came. With a quick phone call and a whirlwind later, God dropped you into our life. It all begin June 1st. God was preparing us for a little girl as that is what we were pursing on the adoption front from the beginning. It's funny how I cannot imagine little Diana in our home and I cannot imagine our home with out you. You have blessed us beyond measure. Watching you grow and develop has been such a testimony of God's sovereignty and his mercy and grace. Every time I walk through the door and see your face light up, it warms my heart. You were my first daughter...though not my eldest one. Adoption has completely changed our lives in a way we never expected. Initially I worried that I might not be able to love a child that did not come from our womb. Looking back at my own foolishness I can say, with great confidence, that the wisdom of man is foolishness in the light of God's wisdom. He knew what we needed.
You are an amazing little girl!!! You bring a smile to even the most stern of faces. Your joyful countenance has blessed many. Your story has blessed even more because all glory belongs to the Lord! We couldn't have written a better testimony of God's grace. That is something that only he could do.
I feel it appropriate to share our doctor's visit with you. Today we had you assessed by a neurologist at the behest of an alarmist pediatrician (though not your pediatrician). They advised us to get into a neurologist as soon as possible as we were missing the window of opportunity to get you the help you needed. I chuckle, now, at that advice. The neurologist we saw this morning marveled at how well you were doing given your tumultuous birth and NICU history. After all was said and done, you were within a month developmentally from where you should be based on your adjusted age. You are a living testimony. Born at 26 weeks, medical science tells us that you shouldn't be doing as well as you are doing. We certainly can't take any credit for it. All we have done is respond with the same love we have been extended by God, the maker of Heaven and Earth. Any good in you is His doing, not ours. The fingerprints of an almighty God are all over you.
My prayer for you, as your father, is that you grow in the Lord. May he bring you to repentance and submission to Him. May you grow in the fear and admonition of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. May your life be a testament to God's faithfulness and mercy. May he enrich your life spiritually. I pray that he raise up a Godly young man to lead you and point you back to your Creator. I pray that you may know the joy of being a mother...the same joy you bring us. I pray that you may win souls to Christ by the example of your own life. You are a treasure!!
While selfishly I want you to stay my little girl forever, realistically I know that isn't possible. Though, no matter how old you get, you will always be my precious baby girl who squeals and giggles when I tickle her and who looks at me and says, "Ga ga ga ga." This same little girl whose smile could light up a room and whose snuggle could calm even the most anxious soul will be burned into my memory.
We love you with all of our heart!! Happy Birthday, baby girl.
Happy birthday, precious Christyana! What a joy you are to us! -- the Haarhoffs
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