I Stand with My Sister

I'm going on a long rant today.

So I was just scrolling around on the internet and I saw this.

Someone had posted it with the comment "I'm dying of laughter". Clearly this sweet little girl has Down Syndrome.  Anyone could tell that she has some kind of disability.  Is this what the world is coming to?  We're starting to laugh at the kids with disabilities?  I know that lots of people have laughed at them for a while, but this made me extremely angry and upset.  Oh, I'm sorry, I guess this is just called freedom of speech.  What a cruel world we live in.  I look at this little girl and I see Hannah. I'm extremely protective of Hannah and if anyone talks bad about her I'm going to say something. If someone talks bad about anyone with disabilities, I'm going to say something.

For those of you who don't know, my little sister Hannah (14) was born with Down Syndrome.  She spent the first 7 months of her life in the hospital.  When she was born, her esophagus was not connected to her stomach so she had to be rushed into surgery the instant she was born.  They managed to connect the esophagus but it left a hole so thin no food would be able to pass through it without Hannah choking.  This meant she needed a g-tube. A g-tube goes into your stomach with a port on the outside where liquid nutrition is pumped through.  Hannah gets all her medicine, water, and formula through this g-tube.  She has never eaten by mouth and probably never will.  She also needed a trach, which is a tube in her neck that helps her breathe.  Thankfully she was decannulated (her trach was removed) a few years ago.  She still has her g-tube.  All this stuff left her with a very weak immune system.  She was sick probably every month.  When Hannah gets sick, it's not an easy thing to deal with.  She usually needs to be placed on an oxygen tank, sometimes needing five or more liters of oxygen.  Since the oxygen tank we had at home only went up to five liters, if she needed more than that it was time for a hospital visit.  These visits could last for two days or two weeks.

I remember that me and my sister always had a bag packed in case we needed to be woken up in the middle of the night and get picked up by my grandparents because Hannah needed to go to the hospital.  We would get passed off from grandparent to grandparent to aunt and uncle to neighbor.  Sometimes we would wake up and my parents and Hannah would be gone and my grandmother was sleeping on the couch.  It was all normal for me because I was two years old when Hannah was born.  I didn't know any other way.  That's why it was so hard for me to understand why people would stare at Hannah when we went out in public.  I didn't see anything different about her.  She was my little sister.  I didn't see the Down Syndrome.  I didn't see the trach and the g-tube.  I didn't see all the tubes hooked up to her when I went to see her in the hospital.  I saw a beautiful little girl who always had a smile on her face.  Even in the hospital, you would never see her without a bright smile on her face.  Even the hospital staff would come in and ask "Is this girl actually sick? She looks so happy."  I think my sister is the only person who would thank the nurse after she changed Hannah's IV.  You would never guess that she was in pain or on ten liters of oxygen.  She was the happiest girl around.

Can you see why I get so upset when I see offensive pictures like that?  Why I get so upset when I see people stare at my sister?  Why I get mad when people call others with disabilities 'different'?  Just because they look or act a little different does not make them any less of a human being.  They were created by God just like you and me.  Why should an extra chromosome change how you view them?  I like to say that the extra chromosome that comes with Down Syndrome makes those people kinder and happier than anyone else (also much more stubborn).  So don't be so quick to judge.  My little sister has gone through more in the first few years of her life than most people have to go through in their entire lives.  She's so precious and I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world.  I wouldn't trade the disabled kids I work with for anything in the world.  Every single person is special.  We were all made in the image of God.  Period.  No matter what they look or act like, everyone is a precious child of God.

Thanks for reading!

Sarah Beth

Philippians 1:20-21

Love Your Life: Skinny v. Healthy

This one is going out to all my ladies out there!  Boys, this kinda applies to you but I'm focusing on the girls.  Sorry.  In this post I would like to discuss the difference between being skinny versus being healthy.  There is a HUGE difference that society seems to ignore.  I'm going to sort out the grey matter between the black and white.

Society has defined a woman's beauty by her facial features, fashion sense, and of course, her weight.  Skinny women are complimented while "fat" women are reprimanded for not following society's standards.  Whose to say what's pretty and what's not?  The same people that rate the "Most Attractive People of This Year" and release pictures of both men and women half-dressed?  I think it's inappropriate and degrading to everyone.  Why do some people think they have the right to set the standards of what's beautiful for the 7 billion people on the planet?  Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but it becomes a problem when people try forcing their ideas on others.

Just look at how society has changed.  A few decades ago women were trying to gain weight because that was considered beautiful.  A few centuries ago women with full figures were admired because it was a sign of wealth and financial stability.  Now, women starve themselves to match what society says is beautiful.  I see pictures all the time of supermodel women who are nothing but skin and bones.  Their ribcages are prominent yet the press calls them beautiful and healthy.  That's not healthy.  I find it mind-boggling how people can look at an animal with its ribcage showing through and they call it starving and pitiful but when a ribcage shows on a woman it's called beauty.  It's sick!

You are trying to tell me that just because I weigh more than that supermodel I'm ugly?  That I'll never find a man who loves me because I'm what you call fat?  Let's sort this out right now.

Being healthy and being skinny are two completely things.  Being healthy means you treat your body right: you exercise and eat right.  That doesn't mean your body is going to be skinny.  If you are a healthy weight, why should it matter if you have a flat stomach or that your thighs don't touch?  If you are healthy and your thighs touch, no problem!  If you are really skinny but you are considered a healthy weight, no problem either!  Everyone's body is different.  Some people are a healthy weight but it shows.  Others are a healthy weight and they are skinny.  See, it's one thing to want to be healthy.  Personally, I don't want to be really skinny, I want to be really healthy.  If being healthy means my thighs still touch, I'm okay with that.  My body is a temple unto the Lord, therefore I need to care for it. He made me in His image.  He made every single human in His image.  We are all beautiful to God, and that is all that matters.  If I know that no one on earth finds me physically attractive but my Heavenly Father loves me for who I am, I would be perfectly happy.  God is the only one I need to please, not society.  Not the boys who called me fat.  God told me I am beautiful.  God says we are all beautiful.

"I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well."

Psalm 139:14

So remember, no matter what anyone says, there could never be a more beautiful you. No amount of make-up or starvation could change that.  God will always love you for who you are, not for your looks.  You are beautiful in His eyes, and that is all that matters.

If you are ever feeling down about your looks, go listen to one of my favorite songs by Jonny Diaz: More Beautiful You - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ks3R2BwyO0 

Thanks for reading!

Sarah Beth

Philippians 1:20-21

Real Relationships: Being Single

All the single ladies! All the...no, let's not go there.  Hello to all my fellow single people out there!  Or maybe you're not single!  Either way, HELLO!  But, to all my singles out there, do you think your life isn't complete because you don't have a significant other?  Think again!  I'm here to show you that being single isn't all that bad!  Sure it might be lonely and the only dates you go on are the ones where you're sitting on the couch with a packet of Oreos watching reruns of Downton Abbey and Doctor Who in your sweatpants... hey, first of all, that sounds way better than having to get all dressed up and go out somewhere for a date.  If someone asks me out (probably never but that's beside the point), he'd better be cool with some dates involving my couch and sweatpants.  I think staying in and watching movies together is a better date than spending money anyway.  Okay, now that we have all that out of the way, let's get into the good stuff!

Song of Solomon, Chapter 3

All night long on my bed

    I looked for the one my heart loves;

    I looked for him but did not find him.

² 

I will get up now and go about the city,

    through its streets and squares;

I will search for the one my heart loves.

    So I looked for him but did not find him.

³ 

The watchmen found me

    as they made their rounds in the city.

    “Have you seen the one my heart loves?”

⁴ 

Scarcely had I passed them

    when I found the one my heart loves.

I held him and would not let him go

    till I had brought him to my mother’s house,

    to the room of the one who conceived me.

⁵ 

Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you

    by the gazelles and by the does of the field:

Do not arouse or awaken love

    until it so desires.

This is possibly my favorite passage about finding love.  This woman is wandering around, looking for her love.  She eventually finds him, and they live long, happy lives together.  The perfect love story.  I especially like the last verse: "Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires."  Hmm.  Let's talk about this one for a bit.

Boyfriend.  Girlfriend.  I love her.  I love him.  She said he said I said this.  I'm breaking up with you.

STOP.  ENOUGH.

I am 17 and I am sick of hearing this.  So many people my age are in and out of relationships so fast I don't even know who's dating who anymore.  If you are in a happy relationship with someone, congratulations, I wish you the best.  If you find someone who truly makes you happy and you think he could be the one, go for it.  The only problem I have with dating is when people date just so they can say "I'm dating."  Please, don't try to say, "You're so wrong because he's the perfect guy and we are gonna live happily ever after and you don't know what you're talking about and--" Lemme stop ya right there.  First of all, you're (probably) still in high school.  You haven't even lived 1/4 of your life yet.  You think this man...guy...boy..is the one for you even though you have so much life let to live?  I'm sorry but from what I've seen, high school relationships don't last.  More often then not the couple drifts apart with college and simply life and they eventually find someone else.  No offense to those in high school relationships, but stop and think.

God has a perfect man or woman out there for you.  One day, He will lead you two to each other.  Yes, it might be in high school.  However, you can't rush true love.  You'll know when the time is right.  Don't say yes to the first boy who asks you out.  Don't ask a girl out because she's "hot".  Take your time with love.  Believe me, it will be worth the wait.

I personally have never dated.  Never be asked, never asked anyone.  Didn't even ask my best guy friend to act as my date for the prom.  17 years and always single.  But guess what?  I've been happy, happy, happy.  Yes, I've been lonely a few times, but maybe my girl Tori Kelly can help me out:

But I'd love to have a soulmate 

God will give him to me someday

& I know it’ll be worth the wait

So if you’re out there I swear to be good to you

But I’m done lookin’, for my future someone

Cause when the time is right

You’ll be here, but for now

Dear no one, this is your love song

But sometimes, I just want somebody to hold

Someone to give me their jacket when its cold

Got that young love even when we’re old

Yeah sometimes, I want someone to grab my hand

Pick me up, pull me close, be my man

I will love you till the end.

Tori Kelly - Dear No One

There you have it.  This is exactly how I feel.  Sure, I want to find my man as much as the next girl.  However, I'm not willing to give my heart to just anyone.  He's gonna be a real special guy because God will give us to each other.  Hopefully.  Lord willing I will find my man but you never know.  Love is a tricky thing, but it's beautiful.  There is someone out there for you, I promise.  Just give it time and a little patience and I promise it will be worth the wait.  Your soulmate is going to make you the happiest person in the world.  Anytime you ever feel lonely, just remember.  Remember that God knows, and when the time is right you will know, too.  Stay single and crazy until that time!  Have fun! Enjoy yourself in the singleness!  Hey, 17 years and I'm still going strong, just waiting for my perfect guy.  

The most romantic story isn't Romeo and Juliet.  It's when Grandma and Grandpa grew old together.  That's the love story I hope I have.

Thanks for reading!

Sarah Beth

Philippians 1:20-21