As a young girl, I remember fondly watching Disney princesses in all their allure: Snow White, Jasmine, Ariel, Cinderella. They all had a story of tragedy to triumph, and the kicker at the end was always that they got their handsome prince. I grew up in a world where that is what I was taught to do. Grow up and get my prince. I learned at a young age through observation that I had to go to school so that I could get a good job, so that I could support my children, who would inevitably be the product of my fairy tale marriage. And that was how my life was suppose to go: school, career, marriage, children. Those were the ultimate goals in life, That is just what is everyone did. That is why I went to 1st grade every day, because if I didn't, I wouldn't be able to follow that life pattern, and therefore I wouldn't be happy. 

Isn't that what society teaches us, men and women alike? We have to get the right education, go to the right college, get the perfect job, land the right career, marry the perfect person, have the perfect children, and then we live happily ever after, just like in the fairy tales. 

Isn't that what most of us do? I worked my butt off in high school, got involved in too many extracurriculars  took every honors course offered, graduated with a 3.6 GPA, 12th in my class, with a full ride to Middle Tennessee State University. And college was no different. I graduated with honors, Magna Cum Laude with a bachelors of science in pre-law and a minor in public administration, and an acceptance letter into the law school that I had hoped to get into. And here I am now, about to reach the half way mark of my law school career, and let me tell you, I have worked my butt off to stay in that game. 

But you see, when someone has a "disability," their life might not follow that "path" that just IS what everyone should do. Heck, isn't that why I mourned the loss of Christian's vision when I found out he was blind? I can remember Chris and I sitting and crying right after Christian was born as we discussed all the things he wouldn't do: He would never drive a car; He would never play high school football; School would be so hard for him; It would be harder for him to find a spouse because he would be considered a burden to a wife; everything would be harder for him. And so we mourned the loss of a "normal" life for our child. And anyone who has a child with a disability, if they're honest, can probably say that, at least to some degree, they have also mourned the loss of a "normal" life for their child. 

So here is the crux of my theory (and I'm gonna put it in bold so that my point gets made (: ): WHAT IF THAT THING WE CONSIDER THE 'NORMAL' LIFE, THE PERFECT LIFE, ISN'T CREATED FOR EVERYONE? WHAT IF GOD HAS BIGGER PLANS FOR SOME PEOPLE?

There it is. BAM! Did it hit you like it hit me? Because when it hit me, a smile came across my face, and I felt...proud, to think that God had chosen a different life for my son, that maybe He had bigger plans for Christian that "normal."

Now let me go ahead and say that there is nothing wrong with following that "normal" plan that I mentioned above. Heck, that's exactly what I did. And certainly I believe God has no small plans for anyone. I believe He has grand plans for all of His children, and that whatever form that may look like for each individual is perfect for them. 

But the more I thought about this theory that I came across, the more it made sense to me. What if Christian's disability wasn't really a "disability," but really more of a "divine conspiracy" of sorts? What if God created my Christian for a purpose so powerful and so wonderful and so great, that He knew that Christian could accomplish it without his vision? And what if God, when creating Christian, made him strong enough to be able to diverge from this "normal" path, and do it well, where most people, myself included, are not stronger enough.

Now, please don't take that to mean that I think God makes people disabled or that it is His will that some people suffer more than others, because I don't. I think God wants all of His children in perfect health, and that He doesn't afflict people with sickness or disease or disability. Does He allow it to happen? Obviously He does. But this isn't Heaven, and His perfect will is not always what happens here on earth, as we can see just by turning on the news.

So I guess i said all that to say this: There are those of us who follow that "normal" path, and we find it hard to comprehend what it'd be like to do anything else. The there are those of us who can't follow that normal/"