Brian Doerksen – Finding Hope Hidden On A Detour

Joyce and I started out as high-school sweethearts and we ended up being blessed with 6 children including 3 of them with special needs. After finding out that our first son had Fragile X Syndrome and would require care for a lifetime, we decided to try to have 1 more child. We did so because we sensed God’s invitation, and so we believed we would have a normal son that could carry on the Doerksen family name. Joyce conceived the month we hoped for, we continued in prayer through those 9 months believing our prayers were being heard. Isaiah was born in June 1999. In time we got the test results – Isaiah had Fragile X. To use the language of the Psalms, we prayed for deliverance from Fragile X and we were not delivered. We wept as we felt the weight of the future. Yet through the years, we began to experience the gift of Isaiah’s presence in our family. His whole being is about giving and receiving love. When he wakes, he seeks me out to give me a hug. When I return home, he stops what he is doing and he directs Joyce and I into an embrace. He won’t leave the room until he sees us in each other’s arms. Isaiah, now 20 is one of the reasons I have hope for the future. For as long as I live, I will experience Isaiah’s unconditional love. He doesn’t care if my latest album or song succeeds. He loves me because I’m alive. As long as there are Isaiah’s among us teaching us that life is about giving and receiving love, I have hope we can learn to love each other just as God loves us – unconditionally. It’s true – for all of us often life is hard . . . sometimes we don’t get what we pray for. Sometimes we get something better. Love. As I sing in my song ‘Everlasting Arms’ . . . ‘Underneath all things are the everlasting arms.’