70. Strength

Strength. Something we all lack. We all break down at some point. But then there's some of us that have more strength than others. Call me crazy, but I'm completely convinced that the younger you are, the more strength you have. Hear me out.

Babies, toddlers... they're so resilient. But more than that... they cry. A lot. They cry when they're sad. When they're mad. When they're frustrated. When they're hungry. Sometimes they cry for no reason at all. But they live their lives to the extreme. They cry when things aren't right but when they are, MAN are those kids happy. They laugh. They sing. They dance. No matter who's watching. And when someone's mean, they cry. And they bounce back. They know how to deal with emotion. And they know that crying isn't a lack of strength. Maybe it's just me, but being strong enough to cry is the ultimate sign of strength.

Today I witnessed my first medical emergency involving a child. And I couldn't cry. I couldn't really do anything, to be honest, but most of all, I couldn't cry. The doctor ran in from the delivery room with a tiny bundle, screaming "BABY!" and practically dropped her on the isolette bed. Then everyone flew into action. Intubation tools down the throat, arterial lines and IVs in her tiny blood vessels, NG tube down her nose, blood pressure cuffs and sat probes, about 20 people gathered around a person the size of a shoe all struggling to keep the little one breathing. Until the moment when they realized there was nothing they could do. When they called in the tiny chica's parents (wheeling in her mom on her hospital bed, complete with labor & delivery nurse working on the mom who was still recovering from delivery). When the grandma brought in "big brother" to meet his tiny baby sister. When all 20 doctors and nurses and respiratory therapists got out of the way just so they could get pictures of this little baby girl's 3 hours of life. THAT is when I realized where we all get our strength from. Somehow, even in life's most delicate moments, in those moments when no one can explain or rationalize what is happening, somehow we find strength. And even those of us that aren't entirely sure where it comes from know that it's something bigger. Something more.

It's God.



Today's sunny thing?
Strength