Saturday, November 9, 2013

Under the Rainbow: A Mother's Experiences of the Promises of God by Catherine Campbell

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After reviewing Ms. Campbell's 40-day devotional, Rainbows for Rainy Days, I jumped at the chance to review this book, her memoir of motherhood. Not one, but two of her three children were born with the same developmentally-crippling disease, microcephaly. (This is when the "soft spots" on a baby's head harden either during pregnancy or shortly after birth, not leaving room for the brain to grow and develop. In most cases, this leads to blindness, a lack of ability to walk, talk or even to sit up unaided, and eventually, to death. However, Catherine didn't allow her daughters' disability to disable her light. Still, she shone on, letting the stories of herself, of her husband and her children to help change the view of these people. They are not some "thing" to be rid of.


My younger brother "Henry" has  Down Syndrome, and as his family, we had to adjust. We've always believed that God made and loved those born with disabilities, but as Henry's sister, well, I found the following excerpt absolutely beautiful, and began to tear up when I read it:

*please note that the Author is from Northern Ireland, therefore, you may find some spellings and words to be different.*

"Undoubtedly, we live in a world of the designer label. What we wear is not nearly as important as who made it, and that others know who made it. This is so much the case that manufacturers often display their exclusive label on the outside of the garment. Why wear Ralph Lauren of Coco Chanel if no one else recognizes it? A lot of our teenagers would rather die than be seen in a pair of trainers [American speak: tennis shoes] manufactured by anyone other than those of the current trendsetting brands...
'I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;Marvellous are your works,And that my soul knows very well...You saw my substance, being yet unformed'...
'Listen to this, Cheryl,' I exclaimed, making the poor child jump as I raised my voice in excitement. 'You are no mistake, Sweetheart. God knew exactly what He was doing when He made you...it ways so right here in Psalm 139. it says here that God formed you. He knew your little frame before I did, when it was just a bunch of cells- it wasn't hidden from Him. You were no surprise to Him.'...
Down through the years I have learned to see this world's view of perfection from a completely different perspective. Our raison d'etre is far greater than health and wealth, happiness and beauty. Psalm 139 gave me the assurance that Cheryl was 'designer made', and that stamped across her life were the words:
Made with love by God'."(excerpts from pages 53 and 54)

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