Baruch, Our Special Child
By Sara Rosenfeld
http://www.chabad.org/theJewishWoman/article_cdo/aid/381276/jewish/Baruch-Our-Special-Child.htm
It was about fifteen years ago when we embarked on our exciting position to establish a Jewish educational network in Glen Waverly, Australia. We were about a thirty minute drive from the main Jewish neighbourhood, and it was quite a challenge for a young and seemingly inexperienced couple with two small children.
Soon after we moved, a woman began coming to a playgroup I had started. She had one little boy and was soon expecting another child. You can't imagine the smile on her face when she told me she was pregnant with twins. Unfortunately, toward the end of her pregnancy, she no longer felt movement and tragically, gave birth to stillborn twin girls. Their grief was unimaginable.
What does she know about life's challenges?
These devastated parents, a young couple themselves, came to spend Yom Kippur with us so that they could walk to synagogue on this holiest day. We spoke, and I shared some thoughts from Chassidut about dealing with tragedy and about G-d and His mysterious ways. But, all along, I felt that perhaps I had no right to speak. I kept thinking that she was probably wondering, "What would she know? Here she is, young, with two healthy children - what does she know about life's challenges?"
Yet, I spoke from the heart and tried to be there for her. This fear, however, lingered in my mind. How could we speak to couples and offer counseling to people who had much more life experience than we had? How could our words penetrate the hearts of others who went through something that we would never want to experience?
And then, our son Baruch was born.