Never have I been able to sort between coincidence for a reason and events that come my way purely by happenstance. I vacillate between thinking everything is by chance to thinking all things occur by destiny. Generally, I have settled that our episodes of life are some combination of the two; a mixture of providence and accident.

First thing each morning I start coffee and while it’s brewing I check the “news” on my Yahoo homepage. Today’s page was mostly filled with the usual jumble of politics, dreadfulness and deceit which I read little of. Quite by change I did stumble across a story that deeply moved me.

Chance, providence or both brought the story of Lacey Buchanan, her husband and her little boy into my path. She created a Youtube video about her blind baby boy and his rare condition that has spread virally racking up hundreds of thousands of views.

The ABC story carried on Yahoo included: Buchanan, who works at a day care center and also attends the Nashville School of Law, said she made the video about their struggle because she wanted her son “to grow up knowing he’s important, knowing he has value, despite the way that he looks,” Buchanan said. “I never thought it would be as big as it has gotten, but I’m thrilled that Christian is becoming a face and a voice for this, that beauty is so much deeper than what you look like,” she said.

Some may be put off by the Christian background music which would be unfortunate. While my beliefs in a Higher Power don’t match this young Mother’s, I have great respect for hers. God is good and great, no matter how you shape a belief of Him/Her/It.

This morning before the smell of fresh coffee filled my kitchen, tears filled my eyes. As I watched this young mother tell her story scribbled on pieces of notebook paper my emotions overflowed. It was gratitude for her courage I felt that acutely awakened my humble gratitude for my “normal” son who has thrived in the world without the challenges her son faces. What we have in common is how deeply we each love our son.

So there you have it: I started this day with tears and am better for it. Those sniffles left behind deep joy-filled gratitude.

In our daily lives, we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful,
but the gratefulness that makes us happy.
Albert Clarke