Saying BYE BYE to a Friend for a reason

Yesterday we said "bye-bye" to an old friend of sorts...Holden's G-Tube. It was another milestone for us in this miraculous journey. And for me, a true testament of God's hand at work in our lives.

As many of you know, our old friend "G-Tube" may have saved Holden's life. As a newborn, his reflux was so severe that he would projectile vomit after each feeding. It got so bad that at one point he aspirated formula which caused him to get pneumonia and landed us in the hospital for over 2 weeks. His doctors feared that if he aspirated again, it could cause significant damage to his already fragile lungs. So at eight months old, we headed back to the hospital for a fundoplication surgery where Holden received a G-Tube for his 20 hour-a-day feedings through a feeding pump.
The G-Tube and feeding pump enabled us to safely feed Holden the nutrients he needed to grow. And thankfully, as he grew, he slowly got healthier. And as time went on, we were able to reduce the amount of time he was hooked up to the feeding pump...ultimately freeing him (us) from being attached to so many tube/wires.

Interestingly...this is the ONLY photo I have of Holden's G-Tube. I can't fully explain why, other than it was something I embraced only temporarily in our lives. I always prayed and visualized Holden eating on his own and having the G-Tube removed. In fact, at night when Holden and I say our prayers we would ask God to help him get strong enough so we could "say bye-bye to the feeding pump and g-tube." We said bye-bye to the feeding pump in November and yesterday, the rest of our prayer was answered as we said "bye-bye" to our old friend G-Tube.
For some reason, this reminded me of a poem that was recently emailed "Reason, Season or Lifetime". The first verse reads..."People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.When you figure out which one it is,you will know what to do for each person.
When someone is in your life for a REASON,it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.They have come to assist you through a difficulty;to provide you with guidance and support;to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.They may seem like a godsend, and they are.They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on."

In a strange way, that G-Tube was our friend. It was in our lives for a reason but now that our prayer has been answered, we said good-bye and are happily moving on! Thank goodness for friends of reason. They have a definite purpose in our lives and will always have a special place in our hearts!