Suffering and Joy

I've gained things from Kung Fu Panda 2 that I doubt anyone else ever shall. It teaches basic truths that deserve remembering:

The greatest thing that can be said of a parent is that they never failed to love their child.

One of the greatest sufferings a man can face is to lose his parents. One of the greatest sufferings parents can face is to lose their child. More worse is to know they did not love you.

When you receive great suffering, you must still go on. Whether the scar fades or not, who you chose to be is what really defines the joy or sadness of your life.

The laughter and cries of a child strike harshest blows against a parent who knows he may never hear his own child.

I've suffered many things in my life. Fears concerning my relationships, my occupation, my financial success, my home, my wedding, my marriage, my faith. But fear is nothing compared to knowledge. Fear is a flighty emotion that will come and go. Knowledge brings suffering, true scars.

My child has been diagnosed with ancelphaly. She never grew a brain in the womb, has a 50% chance of making it to birth, and will die within 2 hours of being born. We are scarred by this fact, but we will not lose faith. We will bring this child to term and spend those minutes with our daughter, if God wills it. I love my daughter, even though she is a little melon in my wife's womb. And on the day I meet her in heaven, I hope she can honestly say that I never failed to love her.