By Alyson Porter

The Law of Relativity states that your situation is not fundamentally good or bad until you compare it to something else.

This truth has surfaced in my life again and again—one powerful example being during the years my husband was working on his PhD. He was gone a lot. I used to complain constantly. I felt so alone, trying to raise four kids on my own while also running my businesses. It was exhausting, and I was overwhelmed.

One particularly rough day, I called my mom to vent. I rattled off complaints, one after another. But she seemed distant—quiet. Finally, I asked why she wasn’t saying much. She took a deep breath and said she had just gotten a text from my sister, who was living in Japan at the time. It was about her daughter, my niece.

She was in the hospital again.

It wasn’t the first time—and it was serious. Little Kaia had already stopped breathing multiple times from seizures. They didn’t know if she was going to make it.

Kaia was born with White Sutton Syndrome, an incredibly rare condition only discovered in 2016. It’s characterized by autism and developmental delays or intellectual disabilities, along with a distinct facial profile. Children with White Sutton may also face speech and language delays, motor challenges, vision and hearing loss, seizures, gastrointestinal issues, obesity, anxiety, and attention problems.

My heart stopped. I couldn’t speak.

Here I was, frustrated about things like my son pouring 20 pixie sticks into the peanut butter and mixing it with an ice cream scoop... while my sister, thousands of miles away, with no family nearby to help, was watching her daughter fight for her life.

In that moment, all of my “so-called problems” disappeared. They didn’t feel so heavy anymore.

I prayed so hard that day. And by the grace of God, Kaia pulled through.

But that wasn’t the last time. She’s had multiple episodes since then. Her condition is permanent. And her parents will be caring for her for the rest of her life—not even knowing how long that life will be.

Every single day with Kaia is a gift.
And every single day with my children is a gift.

So when things feel hard, I try to remember:
Your situation is not fundamentally good or bad—until you compare it to someone else’s.

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