Lindsey Marson is no stranger to bullying and scoffers on the internet. She’s been called a ‘terrible mom’ after her son was born with the same rare, incurable disease that she has.
Being a mother isn’t for the faint of heart, where opinions and criticism seem to be as vast as the ocean. But when people learn you chose to have children despite passing down a disability, the criticism is amplified.
As a mother to three children on the autism spectrum, I’ve asked been asked why I chose to have children with disabilities. Why burden society with my special needs children when there are so many normal kids in need of homes?
Like Lindsey Marson, I left how my children were uniquely made to the creator of the universe, where everything he created is good. Lindsey was born with a rare genetic disorder that was diagnosed when she was two. Her parents learned she had neurofibromatosis, a disorder that creates tumors in the brain, nerves, and spinal cord. It didn’t stop her from having a wonderful childhood and pursuing her calling.
Lindsey was over the moon when she learned she was expecting. After her son Bryson was born, she learned she had passed down not only her smile and the shape of her eyes to her precious son, but also passed down her disease.
She said it was terrible news, "Devastating is the perfect word for it. And guilty, I felt very, very guilty." What she didn’t expect was harsh criticism from others. Lindsey said, “There's a 50 percent chance of passing along NF, and I have had people say to my face and online that I'm a terrible person, 'Why would you ever risk it?' And somebody said to me, [something that] really stuck with me is that you are never promised a healthy baby. Regardless of genetics, you are never promised a healthy baby."
Lindsey Marson is right. We aren’t guaranteed anything in life, even in parenthood. We aren’t promised a healthy child. But God does promise to work all things together for our good and his glory. We are promised strength, wisdom, comfort, and joy. Perhaps a part of little Bryson’s calling is to show the world he is just as valuable as any other normal child. Even though he’s already had over 80 hospital appointments, he is thriving. Bryson and his mother share a special bond, and she prays as he gets older, he will have the courage to overcome being different.
"I don't know what it would be like if he didn't have [NF], but I truly do think that there is definitely a stronger bond. And as he grows up, I want to make sure that he knows to remain positive and that I will teach him how to do that and how to overcome certain things,” Lindsey said. The fact is everyone is different. There are no two of us alike. We are each special in our own way. God forms each one of us lovingly and intentionally. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Lindsey and Bryson. Together they are showing the world there is beauty and value no matter what shape, size, or differences.
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful. I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be,” Psalms 139:13-15.
h/t: People
image credit: from video above embedded from ctf.org