A Mother's Love...

Here is an update on baby David that many of you have been asking about.  He left the hospital yesterday and headed back to his village after about two weeks in the hospital.  He is still small and has a long road ahead of him, but I can tell a small and yet noticeable difference in his condition from when I first saw him two and a half weeks ago.  It's amazing the difference regular feedings and IV antibiotics can make.  On my latest visit his mother couldn't wait to show off how much better he was doing. She talked about all of the special care he will need at home so I know she is aware that he is still frail.  But I also think she is looking for any reason to hope that he is going to be ok.  She clings to hope because she can't face the alternative, not after all that she's been through to have him.  David is her first and only child.  He came after almost 15 years of marriage.  This is a culture where so much of a woman's value is derived from her ability to produce a child so the fact that she was able to finally conceive and bear a son is no small thing.  On this most recent visit she told me how much she had pr@yed for a child and how she had taken a pilgrimage to a holy site in a different state to pr@y there.  I know she loves this little boy.  I know she loves him.  You know how I can tell?   It's not because of what she told me about how she struggled to have kids.  And it's not because of what I know about the culture and that now she no longer bears the disgrace of not giving her husband a child.  It's not because of what I know about her culture or her story.  It's because when I was sitting across from her she couldn't take her eyes off of him.  Even when she was talking to me, she was constantly making faces at him and stroking his face.  It's because since my last visit he gained 0.1 kg, and she couldn't wait to tell me.  Only a mother looks at David and thinks he looks strong.  Only a mother hopes like that.  A mother's love looks past all of the obstacles and just sees her baby.  That is a mother's love.