Through the Eyes of Hope - 7 Days of HopeSample

The Hope in Your Story

"People get so caught up with fitting in that they don't stop to think that maybe they're not supposed to."

After a YouTube video of our story went viral, the media quickly came our way. This brought about great opportunities, but also opened up our family to unwanted commentary.

So many comments on YouTube were heinous and hateful. We've been accused of pimping Christian's story so we could become famous, that I'm using Christian for celebrity status.

I care, to a point, about what people think, and I try to be extremely careful about what I say online, which means I avoid some topics altogether. For example, there is a certain group of people who think if plastic surgery can make a child look more normal, it should be done. My blog post titled "Why My Child Won't Get Cosmetic Surgery" received a lot of negative backlash when I said I don't want to make Christian undergo all these surgeries to give him prosthetic eyes just to make other people comfortable with the way he looks.

My theory is that I'm not concerned about my kids being like everyone else. I feel like people get so caught up with fitting in that they don't stop to think that maybe they're not supposed to. Fitting in is so overrated. It's not on my priority list, and it's not on my kids'. The world is in shambles, following whatever the TV says, buying whatever commercials say to buy. It reminds me of the movie Wall-E. I'm trying to raise world-changers who follow Jesus, not society.

To say life changed for the Buchanan family after the media frenzy is an understatement. When we walked out of Paramount Studios after filming for the show The Doctors, a man came over to me and said, “My wife follows you on Facebook! Can I get my picture with you? She is going to flip out!”

Before the viral video, people approached us in public because they wanted to know, “What’s wrong with your baby?” After the video they approached because they recognized him. “Oh, my gosh—that’s Christian!” I liked this reaction a million times more.

God turned my weeping into joy. It used to be so hard to go out and deal with people, but now it’s fun. Instead of whispers and stares, people apologize for wanting to talk to us. “I don’t want to bother you.” I look them square in the eye with a smile and say, “No, you are not bothering us. We love it.”

I’ll never take for granted the politeness of the people in our town. They’ve embraced Christian and will stop me in the store to remind me how and when they met him for the first time. Instead of being worried that he’ll be teased, which I know will happen, I’m now more at ease in public knowing that he’ll also hear the awed voices of people who admire and love him.

They love Christian, and for him to become a mini-celebrity in our hometown is nothing short of God making good on His unspoken command not to hide this baby.

How has God shown you His goodness and hope despite the storms you've faced?

Questions for Reflection:

• What have been the hardest parts of the storms you've walked through?
• How has the enemy tried to remind you of your weakness?
• How is your story unique from everyone else's? What parts of your story can you use to point to God's grand plan for you?
• What is God teaching you about hope?