Acting On Her Faith

I admit to some trepidation as I write this post that someone may not understand...  but it is another honest look at the journey we are on.  I am so proud of Chelsea and how she is progressing and growing through this tragedy.  Her future mother-in-law, Robin, and I have commented on it so many times.  Most recently she blew me away when she talked to the nurse and gave him instructions.  Seriously?

My little girl did that??

High Five.

So, yesterday they closed the ICU Unit for an extra hour so that they could perform a sterile procedure bedside of one of the other patients.  I had anticipated a two hour break as usual and had candles in a cooler in the car to take to Back Home Again in Lititz

 as she had sent a message needing more.

Chelsea and I had planned to stop into a second hand shop to look at their wedding dresses while we were there and so when Chadd's mom was trying to decide what to do with her break we both excitedly asked her to come along.

Robin agreed!

We were so thrilled.

And so we left the nice cool, dry air of the hospital and walked into the wall of heat and humidity of the parking garage and headed on our way.

It amazes me how quickly people can bond in these times.

Robin and I had only messaged each other a few times on Facebook in the months prior to this.

But now after a few days together she is a friend.

A real friend.

As we drove through Neffsville on our way up to Lititz a small bridal shop caught Chelsea's eye.

It was not the one we were expecting to visit but it was the one we ended up returning to.

No appointment.

Just a crew of three walking in, stressed, tired but determined to do something forward looking.

The sales lady set us up in a room with mirrors and a dressing room.

I told them straight up what was going on and that we might not be their typical bridal party.

Immediately I spotted a simply elegant dress with lace.

I pointed it out to Chelsea.

The sales lady took us to another room to begin and Chelsea said to me...

"I just want to try on that other dress".

I assured her that she would be able to do that but that she could also find

six other dresses to try if she wanted.

Seven was our sales lady's special number to start with.

After a few minutes Chelsea came up with two dresses to try.

One of them being that first dress she liked.

She tried a pink dress that could be ordered in white.

It was pretty but was not the one.

She tried the lace dress.

No.question!

You would have fallen in love with this lace too.

As Chelsea and I discussed whether this was a post I should write she said I could if I explain her reasoning and the meaning in wedding dress shopping in the midst of these hard days.

The reason is HOPE!

Hope is a very powerful thing.

Chelsea also wanted to prove to Chadd that she is one hundred percent committed to his recovery and to them being together as husband and wife in the future.

Chelsea and Chadd have no idea what the immediate future holds for them.

I am sure that Chadd has questions about whether Chelsea will remain in his life.

She had no doubt about that!

There are legal possibilities that are scary.

There is the emotional healing that will have to come.

So.much for these two lovebirds.

But they hold onto HOPE.

And so when Chelsea loved this dress she purchased it.

With her own money.

Granted it came in well under budget because that is how Chelsea rolls

but it was important to her that she make an investment in the future.

She needed to show Chadd that she is in this thing all the way.

He knows how hard it is for her to part with any money.

She is a saver...the make money squeak kind.

She also needed parental support that it will be o.k. in the long run.

That we not say..."Oh, you'd better wait.".

No, she needed to have that encouragement to do the next positive thing.

I cannot express to you how much it meant to both Chelsea and I that Robin was with us.

To have both of her mothers encouraging her to look to the future.

To trust enough that she could keep on planning.

Wedding planning has certainly lost it's innocent joy.

She is grieving that.

But with each day as Chadd grows a bit stronger she is coming back too.

They are connected spirit to spirit.

I've never seen anything quite like it.

So, I hope you won't think it insensitive or frivolous that we did this thing at such a time as this.

It is necessary.

It is healing.

She smiled a big smile for the very first time since the accident.

HOPE.

Healing hope.