There is a site that I found sometime last month that I have become completely inspired & mesmerized by and hopelessly addicted to. It is a site called the NienieDialogues that was started back in 2005 by a lovely woman named Stephanie Nielson. You may have already visited her site...I have a link on the left side of my blog that says "I read Nienie". She began writing about her children and her husband so that they could keep family members they had to move away from closely connected. She developed a magnificent relationship with mothers across the world whether she meant to or not.This is not just a site with pictures and posts of how much the kids were growing or what they did that particular day. The posts are full of family love and devotion that we all can learn from.
I am completely enamored by the love Stephanie always writes about and displays in her photos. If you have some time to spare, and haven't visited her site, I urge you to take a look. In August of this year Stephanie and her husband Christian were critically injured and burned in a private plane crash. Amazingly, they have survived. Stephanie's sister Courtney has kept the NienieDialogues up and running with re-posts of the Nielson chronicles. Courtney also has her own site where she posts updates about Stephanie & Christian's four children, as well as how the couple is progressing with their recovery. There is also a site dedicated to their recovery you can also check out, however I've found that Courtney's site is updated almost daily.
Christian sustained burns covering about 35% of his body, and Stephanie's burns cover over 80% of hers. Christian has been awake and receiving physical therapy for a couple of weeks now, while Stephanie is just being brought out of her medically induced coma. This couple has been fighting for their survival since August. I've read of the immense faith and love their family has for them and for their children. I continue to read of the faith they all have in God and each other to help this young family survive and remain together.
Their lives are an amazing inspiration. I struggle to imagine what it would feel like to have that happen to someone I love, and I honestly can't fathom the reality of it. The Nielson's and their extended families are such uplifting people to read about. (Several different relatives have even posted writings on Courtney's site.) There are fund raising opportunities that you can participate in, links you can add to your blog, reminders of their need for prayer....so many little things we can do to help a strong, faithful and loving family survive and recover.
Most of all, if I can get you to take only one thing out of reading about the Nielson's accident and recovery, try to digest how much we need to love our children and spouses, to show them and tell them of our constant love for them, to lift them up in prayer and to constantly be thankful of their presence in our lives. Make sure to absorb all of the small moments you can each day reminding ourselves that we do not know our fate and what our future will hold. We can lose each other so quickly. Make the most.....as much as we possibly can....of who we have in our lives that matter.
