HOW MY NEPHEW GOT CROWNED KING

My nephew, Chad, crowned king

The day my nephew Chad was born, no one would have imagined one day he’d be crowned king. No one, except God, because that is exactly how our Creator saw Chad all along.
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Chad was:

• Born two months early
• Weighed 3 lbs. 8 oz. at birth
• Was diagnosed at birth with Down Syndrome and Atrial Septal Defect (a hole in his heart)
• Spent the first five days of his life in the NICU with his twin sister, Lindsey
• Was switched to another hospital where he spent the next seven days in a special care nursery
• At four months old, when the hole in his heart did not close, he was scheduled for open heart surgery
• In pre-op Chad was diagnosed with RSV. The heart surgery was postponed and he was admitted to the hospital for ten days to address his respiratory issues.
• At six months old Chad was strong enough, and had successful open-heart surgery.

 
And eighteen years later at a soggy, chilly, rainy football game in a suburb of Cincinnati, thanks to the amazing true beauty of his high school community, Kings, Chad was not only elected by his peers onto the homecoming court, but called to the throne with this announcement, “And this year’s homecoming king is no other than Chad Handorf!” 

And the meek shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5
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​Yes, my sweet, smiling nephew who somehow sustains himself on chicken nuggets and pretzels, who always carries a coaches whistle, who has faithfully cheered the loudest at every single one of his three siblings’ games, who laughs and tells the most fantastic stories, who sings the loudest and proudest when the cousins go Christmas caroling each year, the boy who came too early, who had a list of medical problems, who survived against the odds, and who lives with the implications and limitations of Down Syndrome each and every day got to see a glimpse of how God sees him. He got to see his true reflection.

Chad and his date, the queen who said, "yes!"

​But wait, there’s more.
​Chad is buddies with one of the girls on the homecoming court, Emily Lima. He was convinced he should invite her to homecoming. Even though she has a boyfriend. My sister-in-law insisted he not do it, because of the boyfriend. But Chad has always been a little stubborn. And so, he made a sign, held it up in class, and asked this girl to the dance. Emily said, “Yes, I will. I’d love to.” And so, she, her boyfriend, and Chad, well, they went to the dance together. It is only fitting, that this beautiful girl, who helped show Chad his true reflection, was crowned queen.
 
You know what true beauty looks like? My nephew, Chad, with a crown on his head, face beaming, knowing through and through that he is a child of the one true King.