As we gathered last week with families for the Hunter’s Hope Symposium, I marveled, as I do every year, at the immediate connection felt among the parents.  There were sixteen new families attending this year and yet our hearts were instantaneously knit together.  In many ways the pain of leukodystrophy had joined us in community before we even met…because brokenness binds.

The manner by which heartache, weakness, and struggle create a foundation for depth of love, respect, and community is astounding.  We gather, not out of our successes and accomplishments, but out of our shared brokenness over our children.

Yet, the beauty of the experience is not in cultivating our sorrow, but rather a rich celebration of life, hope, and love that emerges out of our shared pain.  Our hearts are nourished by common understanding and solidarity, but it leads to genuine joy.

I may only have one week each year where I have the privilege of sharing life with this community, but my heart is deeply bound to them with a love that is only possible through the unity of pain.

Author: Christina