buzzz worthy. . .
A CHILD IS BORN WITHOUT EYES,AND PARENTS SEE GOD'S GIFTSLacey Buchanan's 'Through the Eyes of Hope' Debuts January 10, 2017 | |
LAKE MARY, Fla.– Nov. 1, 2016 – From a combined birth defect so rare only 50 other cases exist in the world, Christian Buchanan was born without eyes. Now, in her new book, Through the Eyes of Hope, Christian’s mom, Lacey Buchanan, tells the gripping story of how God helped two parents see the worst circumstances radiate with glory.
“When we choose to love others despite their differences, we glorify God in His creation,” Lacey says. “Instead of hearing people say, ‘I’m sorry,’ as if Christian had died, I want to hear, ‘Congratulations! Christian is learning to survive and thrive in this world.’”
Married to her childhood sweetheart at 21, and pregnant at 23, Lacey was a joyful expectant mom. Working in rural Tennessee, she also was about to start her first year of law school in Nashville.
Then Christian arrived, diagnosed with Tessier cleft lip and palate, a syndrome in which a baby’s skull fails to knit together in the womb. Most visible were his severely cleft palate and missing eyes.
For his first four weeks, Christian’s parents visited him in the neonatal intensive care unit. When he finally came home, all life intensified. Work, school, care for a severely challenged son, and a labyrinth of medical and insurance complexities also strained Lacey and Chris' marriage.
Meanwhile the Buchanans fielded remarks from well-meaning but uninformed friends, rudeness from strangers, and the vile comments of Internet trolls on Lacey’s Facebook page.
The low point, as Lacey relates in Through the Eyes of Hope, was a woman’s post: “You are selfish for letting him live just so you could have a baby. You are a pathetic excuse for a mother. He will have a miserable life.”
On the contrary. Doctors worked wonders on Christian’s cleft palate, and today he thrives at the Tennessee School for the Blind. Christian is a joy to his parents and inspires the millions around the world who follow his story.
“The most crippling disease is ignorance,” Lacey says. “One day when Christian is old enough, I’ll say to him, ‘I loved you too much to give up on you. I love you too much now to give up on you. You are an amazing person who God chose to be my son, and I am thankful.’”
Through the Eyes of Hope is the arduous but uplifting journey of Lacey, Chris, and Christian—the years of medical procedures, battles with an often-indifferent health system, unexpected kindness and help, a viral video with six million views, a healed marriage, and most of all the unfailing love of parents for their child and God for His children.
“God doesn’t guarantee a trouble-free life or a stress-free marriage,” Lacey says. “But our experience has taught us that when life takes a dramatic turn, He is unchanging, even in the worst of circumstances.”
From Charisma House publishers Through the Eyes of Hope debuts January 10, 2017.
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