Defining Moments

You often hear people say, "this is the most important day of my life", referring to some occasion, perhaps a wedding, birth of a child, baptism, etc. And while these are all important and memorable events in a lifetime, I think it would be hard to pinpoint the most important day of a lifetime, even at the end of your life. I believe some of the most important days in my life occurred without my even knowing. Possibly, looking back, I realized it later. There are moments or maybe periods of time that are so life altering, that we are completely changed. Our life takes on a new direction that we never anticipated. When we woke up that day we didn't know that something was going to occur that would change us so completely. Maybe when we went to bed that night we still didn't realize that our life had been dramatically impacted. For some people it may take years or the rest of their life for the full impact to take place and for them to realize it. I know one of the most defining moment of my life thus far was when we realized Ashley had autism. I'm not even sure what day it was, but at the moment that we completely processed that information, our lives were changed. We were forced to let go of a lot of dreams and goals. They were replaced by a completely different life than we could ever imagine. Ten years ago I would have never been able to predict the things we have gone through and where we are now. It has defined us spiritually, emotionally, financially, and every possible way you can imagine. It has impacted our relationship with God, career choices, friendships, and relationships with family members. I can't think of any part of our life it has not changed. It devastates me to see my daughter suffer, but at the same time I love my life and family. And without autism this is not the life I would have. I guess there is a reason we don't see those moments coming. If we did we would probably run from them and in the process miss so many things that God has planned for us to experience.