Colt’s Story from fpStudents on Vimeo.

I’m not sure why we don’t talk about it more.

Ok, that’s a lie. We want him to feel normal, that’s why.

Truth is, he’s not normal. And it’s a miracle.

As I write this I am in Dallas, less than half a mile away from the site of a miracle. 3 years ago my wife, Holly, and I were in a state of shock. We discovered in July of 2008 that our beautiful baby boy had a cranial deformity called ‘craniosinostosis.’ Which basically meant that in order for him to look and act like a ‘normal’ kid, he would need fairly extensive surgery. As a 9 month old infant.

And in November of 2008 we spent 2 weeks at Children’s Medical Center, a stone’s throw from this very spot, as Colt endured a dual craniotomy, 2 separate invasive surgeries, to correct his deformity.

The miracle that took place at that moment was not medical…it wasn’t even logical. I know that before Colt was born God had a plan to take care of him. You see, God moved in my life to lead me to attend Dallas Theological Seminary. Why is that important? Well, my attending DTS meant that Holly and I needed to relocate immediately after graduating college and getting married. Which meant that we would be living in a new city with new friends and new jobs. But ultimately it meant that when our first child was born, and a cranial deformity was detected, that we would already be living less than 45 minutes away from several of the most experienced cranial surgeons in the world.

The successful surgeries.
The providential placement of our family.

Still not the greatest miracle that happened here.

I remember the morning of the first surgery. I was bitter and angry, although I didn’t show it. And I broke down when we had to hand Colt over to the doctors, weeping like never before. Not because I was worried, but because I was frustrated that I couldn’t fix this little boy that I loved with all my heart.

The greatest miracle that I experienced then was the recognition that God loves Colt, and me, more than I could ever imagine. The truth is, Colt is just on loan to me. He’s always been God’s. Always will be God’s. But I have the privilege of helping him grow to see who God is, and show him how much God loves him. On the day of Colt’s first surgery I realized for the first time that God loved Colt more than I did.

And that He loved me even more than I did.

Let that sink in. Read it twice if it helps.

God loves you more than you do.

That simple truth, the fact that it is true and that we can have knowledge of it, is a miracle.

And I am so grateful that I could learn this lesson from my baby boy. Because God made him special I was able to see the true depth of His love.

I’m not sure why we don’t talk about it more.