Katie Rose Hicks by Sarah Robison (sister) in 2004

I used to think I needed to go to the "ends of the earth" looking for the hungry that need meat, the thirsty who need drink, the strangers who need taken in, and naked who need clothing. However, I have come to realize they are in my own household. Yes, the least of the brethren are in all the world, but I have found they may be very near to me. God has placed each one of us where is pleases Him. I am the middle child in my family. I have four older brothers, two younger brothers, and two younger sisters. It was always special when my mom told us she was having another baby. In the spring of 1996 when I was ten years old, we learned baby number eight was on the way. We were so excited. We all had our expectations of what we thought we wanted. On Thanksgiving Day, my favorite holiday, my mom went in to have the baby. Later that day, Dad called home and said our little brother Luke had arrived but was struggling. Luke was airlifted to Mary Bridge Hospital in Tacoma, Washington. Later we were informed that he had Downs Syndrome. It was a hard thing to adjust to, but the older he grew the sweeter he was. Luke is dependent on us yet his joy sometimes makes us forget how much he really needs. All he wants is to be with one of us. He is now seven and is about as carefree as anyone would ever want to be. Three years later, my mom was expecting again! We all thanked God for the gift we would received. However, who could have imagined what sort of gift this child would be. One January 5, 2000, Katie Rose Hicks was born. My dad came up to our room and told us she was here. As I began to walk downstairs, I realized something was not right. There was an ambulance in our driveway and people were everywhere. I did not know it then, but my life had changed forever. Katie came home after a few days and was our little girl. Yet still she struggled to survive. One night she rocked in her swing, and started wheezing and turning blue. My mom rushed to the phone and Dad tried CPR but nothing would work. The ambulance arrived after what seemed to be too long and the paramedics told us she was having a seizure. There as really nothing to do, but wait it out. Katie has Schizencephaly. She is blind, and will never walk or talk. She just turned four and has to be cared for as if she were a newborn. She still drinks a bottle, wears diapers, and depends on drugs three times a day. Caring for Katie can get to be very frustrating at times. Besides being demanding all day long, sometimes she cries all through the night. This is a lot for my mom to handle alone so the older children take shifts. Every hour, someone wakes up to care for her. Sometimes that means waking up at one o'clock in the morning. I could see walking up with a little girl who is sweet and cuddly. Katie however just slobbers and tenses up so I am practically struggling with her the whole time to make her relax. She gives nothing in return for the time and energy I give to her. My dad always tells me that Katie has been put in my life for a reason. Yet I still find myself thinking thoughts like "I do my share all day long..." "I don't want to take Katie because people will stare at me..." "I am only seventeen and nobody else my age has to handle this..." and worse. Then I am condemned because I have not loved a helpless little girl that God has given me to care for. She often gets sick or has some sort of problem that hospitalizes her. At those times, I am always concerned and I have cried before, because I do love Katie in spite of her weakness. Matthew 25:40 clearly tells me that I am to love those to whom I would be least attracted. Human nature looks to love only what it can use. I would naturally view everyone and everything that way because my heart is deceitfully wicked above all things as it says on Jeremiah 17:9. I would like to be around people that make me feel good and look good, not people that I have to care for and give to. So what hope is there of ever loving the least of the brethren? Without Jesus, loving the least of the brethren would be impossible. I am relieved to find hope in God's Word. "Hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us." (Romans 5:5) Yet, God's love is surprisingly different from what I would naturally think. In the book 'On Being a Theologian of the Cross', Martin Luther said: "The love of God does not first discover but creates what is pleasing to it. The love of man comes into being through attraction to what pleases it." So, because of Jesus I am able to love everyone he puts in my path. I do not know God's exact purpose for Katie, or how long she will be with us. I don't know why God chose her for us, but I know that He loves me and He loves Katie. I know that He is sovereign and He is good to me. Thank you Jesus for fulfilling the law, forgiving my sins I commit daily, and showing me my great need for a Savior.