A lunch full of HOPE

A few months ago while I was still on maternity leave with Duke, I remember sitting down with him on the couch and turning on the TV. Watching TV in the morning was a rare treat for me so I was excited to settle in with a cup of coffee, get some baby snuggles and watch Kathy Lee and Hoda.  While I watched and waited for the TODAY show, I found myself catching up on the local morning news and a clip immediately caught my attention.  I heard the news anchor open with "It's estimated that 1.4 million children in the world are blind". My ears perked up! At the time, we knew we were raising one blind child, Skylee and were still unsure of Duke's vision, although I was beginning to have strong doubts at that time.  As I watched and listened, I saw a very familiar face of a boy named Ollie and his family mentioned. As the picture of Ollie was displayed on the screen I was getting so excited because, HEY, I know this handsome little boy! Those that don't know Ollie, well, you should get to know him. Follow him and his momma, Mimi Parks on Facebook. This family was the very first real hope I was given by someone who was leading the path of raising a blind child.  

I met with Mimi for coffee one morning when Skylee was only about 6 months old and had  just been diagnosed with LCA.  Her son Ollie who is also blind is making a huge difference to all those around them and that's exactly what the news clip was about. A non-profit organization right here in my backyard had been created to help children like mine, like Ollie and like the founders very own child Finely who was born blind. I had never heard of this foundation FearlessHOPE before and I felt so blessed and excited to know that an organized foundation was at my fingertips as a resource to connect with others walking down the same path as Matt and me. 

Immediately following the news clip, I googled FearlessHOPE and read the stories of all the children they have been reaching out to and helping. I gave them my information online and told them about Skylee and possibly Duke.  I later exchanged several emails and a phone call with both Chris and his wife Dallas, parent's of Finley and founders of FearlessHOPE. 

I'm writing this now to say that I finally had the opportunity to meet Dallas in person. We chatted over lunch and shared stories of our children and laughed and well, I cried at one point...you know that big ugly cry you try to hold back because you are out in public which only makes it that much uglier! It was a breath of fresh air to talk with Dallas. Someone who gets it! Truly gets it like only someone who is walking a similar path gets it. Our stories are different. Our struggles are different. But we are the same. We both have HOPE for our children. HOPE for a future. Dallas was a true testimony to look deeper into my spiritual life as she calmly and clearly prayed over our meal and children. Her stories spoke the Truth of God's wisdom and how He has guided her and Chris's steps as they had to make many tough decisions over the many surgeries for their daughter’s eyes. God's path is not always clear but it was clear to me that the Fears were making God a priority on their journey to guide them along the way. I hope and pray that I continue to grow in my faith and let God guide my family every step the way. Thanks for a great lunch Dallas!!

Checkout the FearlessHOPE organization and see the HOPE that the Fears family is bringing to this community! http://fearlesshope.org/

And if you want to check out the news clip that caught my eye that morning here’s the link to it. http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/health/Frisco-Family-Launches-Group-To-Help-Visually-Impaired-Children-399731781.html