Teething pains = perfect timing

Cora has spent the last few days, including today, fighting the fever that comes and goes with teething.  She continues to be different from my other kids and unique even in the cutting of her teeth.  Instead of trying for the simpler gentler method of cutting front teeth she is bringing in another molar.  These are the hardest and biggest of the teeth to get to break through and despite the discomfort that she feels , she remains in good spirits and with smiles at the ready.

I was feeding her lunch today and she signed "medicine".  I asked her "You are signing medicine.  Do you really want medicine?"  She nodded her head yes and patted her cheek while putting two fingers together.  Two index fingers tapping each other is the sign for "hurt".  I stood there amazed at this little girl (yes, sadly she is leaving behind the baby stuff) and then felt her forehead and took her temperature.  She was again with fever so I relented and gave her a small dose of medicine and put her down for a nap.

It was exhilarating to know that Cora can get her point across and let me know what is going on with her.  The fact that she just used the sign for "medicine" was no surprise as I have been using that sign steadily during all her regular med intervals.  It was the point of her telling me that she was hurting and could use something to make it feel better that really got my attention.  It continues to acknowledge that Cora is learning even when it is not a concentrated effort.  She learns from everything we do around her as a family.  It acknowledges that the videos are being absorbed and learned from.  It reaffirms that she is a child eager to learn and thrive in a environment that encourages her to speak in whatever language she can use.  It keeps us looking up new signs to add to her ever growing vocabulary.

If I hadn't listened to my gut instincts and prepared her for a non-hearing world (remember that she was born deaf) right from the start with the sign language, how would she have told me today that her pain was great enough to need a little help with the relief?  I could have stopped using sign language when I found out that her hearing was restored and working.  I didn't though. 
Despite being told that I didn't need to use the sign because she would be talking fine by the time she was five, I still used the sign.  Three months later following that gut instinct, following that push to keep working with Cora payed off, she signed her first question to me!

In this journey with Cora I continue to receive answers...maybe not in my time, but they do come eventually.  She showed me this today.  She showed me that by following my heart and standing in faith of her abilities the reward would, and did, come.

Creator is like that with his blessings and his rewards, with his answers and his comfort.  They come in his time, not in my time.  It is up to me to stand in faith on this journey and remain patient for the blessings that he and Cora have worked out.  Cora has her own way of doing things and with that comes her own time table.  Creator is like that as well.  He works on his own timetable that we can recognize once we can take a step back and become open to see the blessings.  Today, his timing was perfect...the added blessing was that Cora delivered the message.