Oprah is on my daily TiVo list on “things to record”. This season hasn’t been very spectacular to me so I usually just delete the episodes without watching them. Well, yesterday I decided to watch and I am so blessed that I did. There was a mother on there that is pretty popular as a blogging momma. Her story is convicting, tragic, courageous, and inspirational. I feel the need to share it here.
Stephanie “Nie Nie” Nielson is a mom of four and she is known for her popular blog about her life as a mother and wife. When reading her blogs you get an insight to her everyday life with her 4 beautiful children. They bake, and do crafts, and dance. She cooks, and makes sure she celebrates every occasion. Every year when her children go back to school she cooks them a back to school dinner. She loves fabrics, has such a retro style, loves projects, and is an artist. Reading her blog challenges me to be a better mom because she has so much energy and loves spending time with her kids.
Last August, Stephanie and her husband, Christian, were in a plane accident. The pilot of the small 4 seater plane died. Christian had a broken back, burns on 30% of his body, and was in a coma for 6 weeks. Stephanie was burned on 80% of her body and in a coma for I believe about 3 month. Her children were scared to visit her. One of her daughters visited her in the hospital only once and was to scared to come back. She wakes up having to stretch her skin, peel off the excess skin and lives in constant pain. She has a hard time picking her children up. Her kids range in age from 3-8.
Her story affected me. As I was reading through her blog I noticed she is my age. In June she celebrated her 28th birthday. Reading her blog you go through this journey with her. You get a good idea of her life before this accident and then the struggles after the accident. Her fears, her tears, her blessings, I wonder if she knows how many people her story reaches. I highly recommend reading her blog, her story. I promise it will inspire you as a parent, and as a person.
Personally, reading her life, I am inspired to do more crafts with my kids. She makes me want to wear those cute knee length dresses, and cute hats. I’m inspired to serve the Lord more with a giving heart, to express my love for my husband so much more then I do, to add color to my life, fabrics to my pillows. I am challenged to take more pictures with my kids no matter how bad I think I look, really I am blessed.
Here is an excerpt from Stephanie's blog:
Last night I called for my girls to join me in my bed for a chat. Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked at my daughters. Such gorgeous things. I told them how sorry I was, how sorry I was that the airplane crashed. I wept. They looked stunned at my boldness. Claire patted my head softy and Jane wrapped her arms around me. There were no words, just tears.
I told them that I would never ever let anything like that disturb our family again.
I won't.
Then we all linked pinkies to reinforce the very powerful, very serious pinkie promise. Then we smiled and my pain felt lifted. As they jumped off my bed to retire to there own, I told them I loved them and that Heavenly Father has big plans for our family, and we need not worry just trust in Him. Jane looked at me and said;
"Is that why the airplane fell out of the sky? Did he do that?"
"Yes-well no" I slowly answered, a little confused myself "but He saved our lives and that was the beginning of the part of our big plan. We are in the middle of it right now and It is going to get easier."
I heard myself mimicking exactly what my Mom had just told me earlier and now I believed it.
I had too.
My pain, heartache and confusion have led me to state of mind that all is lost, but when I look into my children's eyes I see my Savior and I know that it is not lost, it is just the beginning of a "big plan" for us.
I hope the big plan includes lots of cupcakes. I have a feeling it will.
So go, look at her story. Get inspired. Embrace each day we are given, it is a gift.
1 comment:
What an amazing story. Thank you for sharing. Sometimes we all need reminders of how blessed we really are.
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