Stepping

I have had baby nephews in a steady stream for almost seven years. There are three now, ages 6, 3 and 1. That little one, he's special.

Joel has a rare neurological disorder that caused seizures for the first year of his life, then he had brain surgery. In December, they cut out something like a third of his brain mass, because it was deformed anyway and was pushing against other parts of his brain and causing the seizures. He recovered quickly, was crawling within a few months, and this week took his first steps alone.

A few days ago, my wife called me and said to come over and see what Joel was doing, and when I stepped into their kitchen, he was waddling toward the dishwasher. He got there, banged on it a few times with his hand, then turned around and walked back into the living room. My sister said he'd been "doing laps" all morning. On Sunday, when our pastor called all the kids to come down to the first row for the children's story, mom got him walking down the aisle and he went almost the whole way himself. The church has been very supportive through this ordeal, and when they saw Joel walking, they applauded.

If you have met my littlest nephew, you know how special he is. To see him walking is so precious. Thank you for your prayers.