Happy Birthday Max!

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Happy Birthday Max! What a joy and gift you are to us. We can not believe that it's been four years since we have brought you home from the hospital. We continue to stand in awe of God as we watch Him write the script of your life. From the very beginnning when we got the incredible call from your eight and half month pregnant birth mom who asked us if we were interested in adopting you, to your finalization when we were awarded full and final custody of you up until today everyday has been a powerful reminder of how blessed we are to have you in our lives.


Max you have brought so much joy to our lives. You have taught me so much about the love of God, the glory of God, the goodness of God and the faithfulness of God. There have been so many twists and turns over the last four years, yet through it all God has shown us that He is mighty. In April of 2007 your mom and I took the longest two hour drive of our lives as we drove home from All Children's Hospital after your diagnosis of autism. It shook us to the core. I remember taking you to the park when we got home and pushing you in the swing and just weeping as I looked into your eyes and saw that huge smile of yours. I can't believe how much God has done in you and through since that time. Your progress, your development, yourgrowth is nothing short of a miracle. Autism sucks but Max our God is good. The reality is that no diagnosis could ever rob how special you are.

When you were in delivery your mom and I waited in prayer and great expectation. On the day of your birth the Lord led me to Acts chapter 17 where it speaks of the Apostle Paul and Silas being men who literally turned the world upside down for the cause of the Gospel. I felt in that moment that the Lord said to me, that the same would be true of your life and Max I have seen that to be the case in so many ways. Your story, your heart, your life has touched many and has created movement for the cause of Christ.
If nothing else, know this Max, your life has changed mine completely. You, have caused me to look at God differently, to examine my life differently, to measure success differently, to prioritize my time differently and you Max have caused me over these last few years to celebrate everything in my life and recognize it as the very blessing of God. Max, you are so special, not because you have been diagnozed with autism, but because you were created by Almighty God and because He has a huge divine purpose for your life. I look forward to seeing how all of it unfolds. Your mom and I pray for you every day and we feel extremely privileged and blessed to have you in our lives. Happy Birthday, we love you!

The word of the LORD came to me, saying,"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart;I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child." But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD. Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant." Jeremiah 1:4-10