“Once Brittany and I took our baby home, we stopped asking God to heal Jaxon, and we started thanking God for making him just the way he is. Now we see Jaxon as perfect.” — From “Don’t Blink,” by Brandon and Brittany Buell.
We like to use NRL News Today to remind you each and every week of the upcoming NRL Convention in Milwaukee June 29-July 1. Believe it or not, it is only one month and 23 days before you will be entertained, educated, and motivated by Ben Shapiro, our opening speaker. (See nrlconvention.com for registration information.)
I’d to use this post to talk about a workshop which, if it is 1/20th as good as the book co-written by one of the workshop speakers, will be one you will not want to miss.
The title of the book, written by Brandon & Brittany Beull, is “Don’t Blink.” Fans of Kenny Chesney will recognize that as the title of one of his songs. In it a man who has just turned 102 is asked, “What’s the secret to life,” and answers, Don’t Blink.
Through his song, Kenny is wisely advising us to slow down, to realize that our children are children for what will seem like just a blink of an eye and just as fast our better half will have been the love of our life for 50 years.
What can that possibly have to do with Jaxon, a little boy, now a little over two years old, an almost-medical miracle who was born with a brain just one fifth of the size of a typical brain? (The technical term is microhydranencephaly.)
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Everything. Let me explain.
The Buells have a Facebook page they call “Jaxon Strong.” As of this morning it has over 420,000 “likes.” They post everyday pictures to remind their followers and partners, “We’re an ordinary family with an extraordinary son, and we’re doing our best with what we’ve been given.”
Together they have formed what is, in every sense of the term an interactive community. They tell us in the Introduction, the book is written “to answer all the questions and comments we haven’t been able to respond to…and perhaps a few that haven’t been asked yet.”
Weaved through the book, from the first page to the last, is a gentle acknowledgement that while many will understand why they didn’t just “let Jaxon go,” many more probably won’t. After all, once an (incorrect) prenatal diagnosis of spinal bifida was made, doctors advised them repeatedly of the possibility of aborting. Then (with even more certainty) doctors flatly told them their son would die very, very soon after birth.
Very quickly the Buells faced a crossroads. They could stay mentally prepared for his death “or we could focus on his life while hoping and praying for the best.” They decided to “focus on the business of living.”
The book can only be understood through the lens of faith–the Buells are devout Christians–and by grasping their bedrock principle that every life matters and that Jaxon was not a “mistake.”
“Within a few weeks,” Mrs. Buell writes, “I began to see–and trust–that God had a purpose for Jaxon’s life. And if Jaxon died, God would have a reason for that, too. God loves those who bear His image, even the smallest and most helpless among us, and His purposes are often hidden from earthly eyes.”
For people who will find it a mystery why a couple would center their lives around a little boy with such severe limitations–in a word skeptics–this book offers many answers on many levels.
For example, near the beginning, they write, “Most of all we’re writing in the hope that our joy can splash from these pages into your life. We adore our son, and we celebrate him for being the marvel and inspiration he is.”
A little further in Brandon writes, “Brittany and I used to see God as the heavenly healer. Now we see him as the author of His perfect will.” Near the end, he concludes, “I don’t know what the future holds for us, and I haven’t spent a lot of time worrying about it.”
When I finished “Don’t Blink,” it occurred to me the book is actually the Buells ministering to us. The lessons they have learned (first and foremost “that God has a plan for his life, even if it’s one we never could have imagined ourselves”), they share with us.
For example, they went from being “needlessly busy to making every moment count for Jaxon.” Consequently they seize and cherish every moment, remembering that “Sometimes we grow immune to the ordinary wonders of life.”
Here are two of my favorite pearls of wisdom. Brittany and Brandon don’t worry about milestones Jaxon hasn’t reached but the ones he has.
Avoid the what-ifs. “But the truth is, even if he didn’t have microhydraencephaly, we still wouldn’t have any guarantees. Life is a gift, but it’s an uncertain gift. So all we can do is embrace the beauty in the midst of the uncertainty, knowing that’s the best groundwork for a miracle.”
Near the end, and without being the least bit preachy, they summarize and recapitulate the lessons of Brandon, Brittany, and Jaxon we can apply to our own lives and our own difficulties.
“Life will no doubt throw you a curveball at some point, if it hasn’t already. When that time comes, we hope you’ll be able to find inspiration from Jaxon’s life. Trust your gut. Embrace uncertainty. Live the life you’ve been given, not the one you imagined. Know when it’s time to give and when it is time to receive. Celebrate the little things. Use your words carefully, recognizing the power they wield. Savor each day. Believe in miracles. Remember that you’re not alone in this. And always look up. For that’s where we find real strength.”
A tremendous book that will be on sale at the convention. Please attend their workshop which is Saturday, July 1 from 1:15 – 2:30 pm.
You can register online for the convention at nrlconvention.com/register.
LifeNews.com Note: Dave Andrusko is the editor of National Right to Life News and an author and editor of several books on abortion topics. This post originally appeared in at National Right to Life News Today —- an online column on pro-life issues.
