Guest Post – A Leap Of Faith & Legos by L.A. Dawson

With my being away for a week, this seemed like a great time to open the blog forum up and allow someone else to share a story on “My Inspired Life”. I love the idea of this being a space for others to share their thoughts and ideas as well as my own inspirations. Why not give something new a try right?! And a total bonus that the story has to do with my Lego theme for the week!

The following story is by a friend and guest blogger, Lisa. Here is her short bio:

Lisa is a California native, freelance writer, mom to twin boys and a blogger in training. She is most grateful for her family and friends. In her spare time she cleans up Legos. Her favorite saying is “pay it forward.” One of her goals in life, besides having a book published, is to clean out her two-car garage that is overflowing with storage bins.

 

And now, I hope you enjoy her story…

As a parent of twin boys, I am in the fortunate position of having a baseline for comparison – in a positive way. Over the years, it has helped me measure normal benchmarks, be it teething, crawling, emotional development or health status.

For one of my sons, I noticed from around the age of two that something was just “off.” He had less energy than his brother, dark circles under his eyes & just didn’t seem to sleep well at night. I have spent the last six years on a medical journey to find answers for my son. (That’s another blog in itself!)

As a result of my medical exploration, I was recently faced with a parenting dilemma: is a tonsillectomy the right choice for my 8-year-old son? Two knowledgeable, respected doctors unequivocally said yes. Yet, the little voice in the back of my mind planted a tiny seed of doubt. Instinctive worry. Modern medicine in our country is the best; that was not the issue. Any surgery brings a small element of risk. My job as a Mom, as a protector in his world, is to seek answers.

My quest for knowledge began with the overwhelming array of Google research. I educated myself on the pros & cons of his particular surgery. And at the end of the day, I had one last idea. I quietly asked the universe for a favor. My request wasn’t even spoken out loud. It was short & to the point. Whispered with my eyes closed:

“Please, if you have any time, may I have a small sign, any sign, that I am making the right decision for my son? Thank you very much.”

I didn’t list anything specific or grand – I was searching for just the tiniest affirmation that I was on the right path.

Days went by since my quiet conversation with the universe & I returned to my Ground Hog Day routine: making breakfast, searching for a lost library book, assembling lunches, walking/running to school, writing from home, reviewing homework, driving to after school activities, refereeing an argument, dispensing band-aids, making dinner, locating bubbles for bath time, reading books and dispensing goodnight kisses.

Fast forward to the morning of Valentine’s Day. Two small gifts were sitting on the coffee table with “Brandon” spelled out in red Crayola marker & circled with a heart. Awaiting were two Lego mini figures, series #6, tightly wrapped in their white mystery packaging:

Lego mini figure packaging

For those unfamiliar with this brilliant, borderline maniacal, marketing strategy by the Lego gurus, the mini figures are 2” high Lego people, in unmarked, missile-proof packaging.

Best of all? You don’t know which figure you have until you have taken some adult-size scissors to the packaging. The anticipation is greater than Charlie looking for a golden ticket in a Wonka bar.

The marketing screams: “Collect all 16!” Yeah. Sure. After you spend $100 trying to get “the one” your child yearns for to complete his or her ultimate Lego scene.

Also, please keep in mind these darling little Lego people are about as easy to get as front row concert tickets to Adele. And sell out even faster.

Some of the people included in the series #6 mini fig set include a roman soldier, a minotaur, a bandit, an alien, a genie, a leprechaun, intergalactic girl, etc. You get the idea.

After carefully opening bag one, Brandon yelled with excitement from the living room:

Brandon:       “Hey, Mom! I got two mini figures!”

Mom:              “Great, who did you get?”

Brandon:       “Well…. the first one is a little boy….. and he’s wearing pajamas…. and he’s holding a teddy bear.”

Mom:              “Cool. He sounds like a fun one.”

Brandon:       “And the other one…..Let’s see…… ummmmm…. it’s a surgeon.”

I stopped what I was doing in kitchen to really focus on what my son was saying.

Mom:              “Oh?!”

Then I walked into the living room to take a closer look at his two new Lego mini figures.

Here they are:

Lego mini figures – surgeon & little boy

Then it dawned on me: perhaps my answer from the universe had actually arrived. The answer to an unspoken prayer arrived in the form of Legos. My son’s favorite toy. Funny how life works. I felt a slight, albeit happy, chill down my spine.

Some may call it a coincidence, silliness or say I’m just reading into things. That’s okay. I know what is true for me.

I guess what I learned most through this process, besides listening to your instincts, is to simply believe. Whatever that looks like for you. Whatever meaning or truth it holds in your world, or your heart. Just hang on to it with both hands.

And best of all, our son came through surgery with flying colors.

Our son, post-surgery