Transformative Love // Life Updates

By Sammie Gallo, Creator of Abundant Life: You Were Made for More

I wanted to pop on the blog and give a little life update (because you guys truly are like my family in so many ways! You have been with me through life transitions and as my family has grown – from marrying my husband, Juan, to having my first baby and being in the thick of postpartum, to having three babies in under three years. It has been quite the journey.

We welcomed our fourth baby in November – Milo Sebastian Gallo! 

He is such a joy, and quickly growing right before our eyes. At the same time we have been soaking up time with our newest addition, we’ve been in some of the thickest trials of our life, dealing with unknown challenges, health issues, and unknowns with our second child, Leo.

Leo is my 2 year old son who has disabilities. 

The journey of being a mom to a child with disabilities is hard. Clinging to hope is mostly futile – sometimes you’re right, sometimes you’re wrong. If I’m honest, it can feel painful to dream, to hope, to remember what life was like before disability entered your story. I have had to advocate and stand in the gaps relentlessly. In every way, every day can exhaust you of everything you have to give.

Over the past year I’ve spent so much time reminding myself that I don’t hope in anything but God. I’ve spent time wondering, crying, grieving, fighting, hoping – and through all of that, I’ve come to freshly believe that whatever the outcome for my son, God has a miraculous and good, good plan for his life.

After two years of jumping through healthcare and insurance hoops, we finally received a diagnosis for Leo. Since he was born, we’ve been dealing with significant developmental delays, muscle weakness, and seizures, among many other concerns. As we’ve navigated the system and have tried to get him the care that he needs, I’ve mostly figured out how to do “the right next thing” as I like to call it – by following God and His heart. The greatest gift of the trials and suffering in my life has been pulling closer to the heart of God, where Jesus has been with me in my solidarity.  

Leo’s been diagnosed with a rare and random genetic disorder that will greatly affect the rest of his life, his development, and our lives as his parents. Our other children will and already have been greatly impacted by Leo’s story and disability’s part in our family’s story. We’ve had to shift dynamics in our home so that I am able to care for Leo because that is what is best for him. God has been with us throughout everything. He has answered both spoken and unspoken prayers. He has reminded me even in the depths of my despair that He sees me and He has not forgotten me.

The blog has been a bit quieter than normal because of those transitions in our life. 

Despite all that’s going on, I wanted to encourage and speak life into all of you through what the Lord is teaching me in my own journey. 

– – –

We all have voices that speak into our lives. Some voices speak truth and fuel us to do amazingly wonderful things for the kingdom; others tear and beat us down. It all depends on what we choose to listen to. This is a lesson that God has taught me again and again, through relationships, failures, and situations where I’ve wanted something so badly but He has chosen to take me on a different path- for my good, and for His glory. 

Here’s the lesson I have learned from my own heartache: God wants me to love Him AND who He created me to be. Take a moment and think about the life of Jesus. How did He spend time with His disciples and the people in His life? What was His character? Wise? Humble? Caring? When I dive into the character of Christ, the root of it is love. When I take everything Jesus has said or done, it can be boiled down to love for God and for His children. As followers of Christ, we are to extend that love to others as well. That includes yourself.

In Matthew 22:39 it says, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Why is it that when we hear or read this verse we see the value of the first part, but are not so great at the second? Why do we forget to love ourselves? It’s not selfish, or unrealistic; it’s God-breathed and spoken into our lives.

Are you familiar with making pottery? You take the clay and you slice it, pat it, beat it, mold it, shape it, scrap it, form it, burn it, gloss it, paint it, bake it. It is such hard work, but at the end of all that process, you have something so beautiful. Now imagine for a second that after spending all that time creating something you were so proud of, you breathed life into it, and it hated itself. How would you feel as an artist? What would you want that creation to know? Yes, there is pain, there is shaping to our character, there will be times we are scraped, molded, and formed, but at the end of the day, we are God’s creation. He loves us more than we can comprehend and is so proud to call us His.

If you have ever doubted your value, here’s what I want to say to you today:

You are God’s beloved.

You are God’s masterpiece, designed for wonderful, beautiful things. 

If you take anything away from this, please know that God loves you and He wants to speak truth into your life. 

As I’ve gotten older, I have been challenged to take a deep look at my life, at my priorities, and more importantly, as I’m being forged in the fire, ask some hard questions. What can I learn from this? What is God trying to teach me? In some of my deepest sorrows, questions, and struggles, I’ve come to the conclusion that the answer is pretty simple… even if it seems so complicated sometimes. 

Our relationship with God is about one thing – LOVE. 

His love for me.

My love for Him.

What I choose to do with that love, even as I am being forged in the fire. 

How I love others around me. 

My challenge to you is this – in the working out of your faith, would you pray that God would reveal to you how much you are loved and how much that has the power to transform how you live? Trust Him, seek Him, and I know He will show you.