Day 301: A Timely Reminder
I mentioned once or twice before that I’m a member of this egroup called, the NY Christian Parents of Children With Autism. We have monthly meetups for Bible studies as well as other fun activities to encourage and support one another. Every week, our moderator, Silvia or other members post devotions and words of encouragement.
I would like to share today’s email which I thought was so touching because it echoed my exact thoughts about my son, Zach at one point or another. Admittedly, I have somehow been entertaining these same thoughts again as we have been going through yet more struggles with Zach’s behavior. May you be blessed and find encouragement in the following words as I have been…
Dear member,
I pray you be blessed by this wonderful devotional from our member Mark.
Good day to all, I am hopeful I will be able to meet with many of you over the course of time. I joined this group as a father of a child with autism. As parents of children with autism I’m sure we all prayed that God would heal and free our children of autism and any other physical or developmental condition that they may have. I’m sure every one of us at some point or another asked the question, “why my child”, maybe when first finding out, or maybe on those days that prove to be a greater struggle to get through. As Christians we rely on our faith and the promises that Christ left us with. And as Christians we all know that God created all things according to His will, and that God is incapable of making mistakes, so when I see my son I see no flaws in him, I put my trust in God that my son has a purpose in God’s divine plan. The Scriptures are a great source of comfort and the word of God stands forever in proclaiming His greatness and glory as the Creator of all things,
Revelation, 4:11“thou art worthy O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created”
Our children are creations of God, it pleased God to breathe life into them, and in them we should seek out the greatness of His work, my son has progressed in so many ways that all I can do is give thanks and praise to the Lord when I see my son. So let us keep in mind when we pray that God has a will and a purpose for each and every one of us as Christians, and not to question or argue with it, to follow in the footsteps Jesus left behind, and to follow the example He set when we gave Himself upon the cross and prayed that the Father’s will shall be done.
Lately, I have find myself more exhausted and stressed as there have been so many things going on in my family’s life: the move, the new baby growing in my belly, my increased workload in the office. Because of all these things I guess it becomes very easy to forget how far my son has actually come in his development. I get so drawn into my own frustration that it’s easy to forget how the Lord has blessed, or been blessing us in so many little ways. It becomes so easy to forget when I’m complaining about my son’s behavior, that all I really need to do is search my Bible for strength and comfort and seek God in prayer rather than rely on my own strategies, that all I need to do is commit my son to the Lord and he will show me how to deal with him.
I thank God for reminding me of this today.
Day 300: A Nice New Home
First off, I can’t believe this is Day 300 of Project 365. 65 days left! I can’t believe I’ve gotten this far even though I still am quite behind on my posts. Nevertheless, I’m proud of myseld for making it this far.
On Day 300, I am happy to announce that we finally have a new apartment to move into! (With a little less than a week left to vacate our current apartment) So we signed the lease and issued the checks for the deposit and first month’s rent and are now proud tenants of a beautiful 2-bedroom apartment on the 2nd floor of the Andrew Jackson Condominium. We couldn’t be more excited. Now it’s just a matter of actually moving the stuff into the new place before the new owners of our current apartment takeover next Monday (Nov 1st). Gotta get moving!!!
Day 299: Bleeding Scare
Just got back from the hospital… Yesterday we had a bit of a scare–a bleeding scare. I freaked out a little about preterm labor. I’m only 32 weeks! A friend told me to go to the ER but I was afraid of spending the night in the hospital so I decided to put my feet up and rest the entire evening and go to the doctor first thing in the morning.
Thank God, it wasn’t anything serious. The baby was alright and I wasn’t having any contractions. Must’ve been all that bending, heavy lifting and pushing big boxes. Not advisable at 32 weeks!
Day 298: An Encouraging Sunday
Indeed it was… not only because of the good attendance in church, but because of the sweet fellowship we had and have had for the last month or so. I truly believe that as long as we, as a church, remain focused on our goal which is to become a soul-winning church, the Lord will bless us with that kind of fellowship. Even our regular visitors notice how determined and focused we are. It is easy to build a church the worldly way, to attract visitors to what may appear as “fun”, but the question is what kind of crowd do you draw. I believe it is God who should bring people in, not us. And God will never give us more than we can handle.
“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.” Prov. 11:30
Day 297: God takes care of His children
I had done a lot of reflecting since last night’s Bible Study and I still can’t help but think about our life this year compared to last year’s. God is truly a loving and caring God. He has seen us through the toughest of times and I’m just thankful that He has taken care of us. These days we are mostly living by faith and just relying on the Lord to provide for our needs. So far He hasn’t disappointed us. Even with the apartment-hunt… I never really got to that point where I was really worried about where we would live after Nov 1st. It was a test for us, yet we saw how God provided for us.
I would like to share the beautiful lyrics of a song I sang during our 1st service at Bible Baptist Church. It is a song by Sandi Patty… It brings me warmth every time I sing it even if it’s just in my head…
Your eyes look throughout the distant stars
taking in everything in galaxies so far
Yet on one crowded planet, circling one certain sun
of the billions here I am only one
Yet you see me, You see me, see meYour ears taking each day’s deaf’ning roar
the screams, the machines, rockets, radios and more
Words of each man and woman, prayers of each boy and girl
every cry and curse, still somehow in this world
You hear me, You hear me, hear meBefore a word is on my tongue,
You’ve seen it birth within my heart
You even understand my reasons
for You search my deepest parts and
You know me, You know me, know meThat’s why Father God I stand amazed
for you know me so well
yet I’m lavished with Your grace
You forgive all my sin
even call me Your child
I’m forever yours for I can’t deny
You love me ! You see me ! You hear me ! You know me!
You love me, You love me, You love me.
Day 296: Bible Study on the West Side
Prayer, Bible-reading and study, songs and sweet fellowship were the theme at tonight’s first Bible Study on the Upper West Side at the house of Bro. Mark Klingman.
A few posts ago, I wrote about how Stephen visited Mark “Moogie” Klingman — a Jewish man, who was diagnosed with cancer and given only 12 months to live. To cut the story short, my husband shared the Gospel with him and he accepted Christ into his heart. He then called himself a “Jew for Jesus”
So as I said, we had sweet sweet fellowship with him tonight as he welcomed us into his home. I was touched because I’ve never been to a Bible Study where I’ve witnessed such eagerness to learn more from the Word of God. The singing wasn’t about showing off either, it was about the purest expression of a yearning to understand God’s plan for one’s life. At the end, we all sang Amazing Grace and I’ve never sung it with so much pain and gratitude. Pain, for knowing what this man is going through yet gratitude that we have such a gracious and merciful God who continues to care for us and give us the strength we need to go on from day to day. It was truly sobering…
Day 295: Alison Berger Event
Tonight Holly Hunt hosted an event for one of the designers of a lighting line which we carry in our showrooms across the country.
Alison Berger is one of the finest artists I know in glassworks. Her hand-blown lighting pieces are truly one of a kind. I’ve never really given it much thought but it’s such a thrill every time I get to sell one of her pieces, whether it be a sconce, pendant or one of her more pricey custom chandeliers. For me, it’s like these clients aren’t only doing Alison a favor by buying her pieces but they’re also doing the rest of the world a favor by showcasing such rare beauty and art.
I once gave pricing to a client of mine when asked how much a particular piece was. I was surprised and admittedly a little annoyed when they asked me why it was so expensive. “Because it is!” I so wanted to scream but of course didn’t. I mean you don’t go into an art gallery, get the price of a painting and ask the artist why they’re asking so much do you? It’s the same thing…I’d consider her pieces more of a form of art rather than just a lighting fixture…it’s a pity people don’t see it the same way.
Day 294: Infanticipation
This pregnancy has gone a lot faster than I would have imagined! It went by so fast I didn’t even get the chance to do a month by month documentation of my growing belly like I did when I was expecting my Zach. I owe it to my busy 8-hour working days, our Saturday responsibilities with church activities and of course our fully scheduled Sundays because of our new ministry–which I am not at all complaining about.
It’s just all of a sudden become overwhelming to know that in the next couple of months we’ll be welcoming new life into our family! But it’s definitely exciting, no doubt… I wish I could already start preparing for the baby but we would probably have to focus on moving out of our apartment first.
Day 293: Back to Gallop
It’s back to Gallop for Zach! We’re extremely happy that Zach’s school has another chance to be a part of this amazing horse-backing riding therapy. For the first part of last school year, they had this unique opportunity to learn how to brush the horses, mount and dismount them. They also learned good coordination by completing certain activities while riding the horse. It was something Zach looked forward to every week and it’s such a joy for us, parents to see our children have as much fun as they do with these horses in therapy.
Here’s a clip from last year: http://www.facebook.com/jasmine.taala?v=app_2392950137#!/video/video.php?v=178892427690
Related Articles
- The Benefits of Horseback Riding for Autistic Adults (brighthub.com)
Day 292: 10 Things Every Autistic Child Wishes You Knew About Him
I got this email from another parent. Maybe this’ll help us all understand Autism a little more. I know #10 hit home for me. Hopefully I’ll have a little more patience with my son too. (Although lately, I’ll admit it hasn’t been very easy as he’s become more destructive with our home furnishings and other things.)
1. MY NAME IS SAM. If you prefer, as I do, you can address me as Samuel. I am not ‘that autistic kid,” or ‘that kid that doesn’t behave himself.’ I am primarily a four year old boy, not primarily autistic. My name is Sam. It just so happens that I am autistic also. While you are judging me or labeling me, I am not labeling you as ‘fat, gray-haired, ugly or stupid, etc… .’ In all likelihood I am probably trying to be your friend.
2. I SEE, HEAR, AND FEEL EVERYTHING. You might be thinking that I have a loose wire, or that I have a few cards missing in my deck. On the contrary, I have all of my cards – in fact, I have more than you or your kids have. It’s not that I don’t perceive certain things; it’s that I perceive everything. Sometimes, everything is a little too much to process. That might cause me to act a little differently than you do. Again, this doesn’t make me primarily ‘autistic.’
3. MY SENSES ARE HYPER-ACUTE. Believe it or not, my sensory perceptions are not organized the way that yours are. What may seem like normal lighting in Wal-Mart to you is actually like having the sun 10 feet over my head to me. Imagine sitting naked in a room floored with sandpaper, filled with tanning bed bulbs while 5000 speakers play Metallica at a volume you can’t even conceive of. Welcome to my day. You think I was ‘throwing a fit’ in WalMart? I think I did pretty well, considering it would drive most people insane.
4. YOUR REACTIONS DRASTICALLY DEFINE ME. I am sorry if I don’t always seem to behave the way that you think I should, but how you react to my behavior drastically impacts how I think of myself and how I feel emotionally. For instance, you may give me a passing scowl because I was too loud in the store. You might not think another thing about it, but what you didn’t see when you were past me is that I put my head in my hands out of embarrassment. Then I thought about how you looked at me for the next two hours, wondering what was wrong with me that I can’t act the way as others.
5. “I CAN’T” DOESN’T MEAN “I WON’T.” To a lot of people, especially those that have never been around an autistic child, it might seem that I am not excessively in touch with my thoughts or feelings. On the contrary, they rule me; I just might not convey it the best way that I possibly can. When you ask me or tell me to do something, I might do it or I might not. Sometimes I won’t listen because I’m an obstinate four year old boy. Other times I will say ‘no’, or ‘I can’t’ because something you said isn’t processing, or because something in my mind or heart is pushing me in the other direction. This is usually something I can’t quickly convey (it may be fear, embarrassment, etc….); take it easy on me and try again.
6. THE FRUSTRATION RUNS BOTH WAYS. You may be frustrated with my limited vocabulary, my inability to express myself, or what you perceive to be my lack of discipline or obedience. Keep in mind that I know what I am trying to express; I just don’t know how to express it. Maybe I don’t have the words. Why don’t you understand me? It makes me so upset!!! This is how I feel. Please be patient.
7. YOU AND YOUR KIDS AREN’T GOING TO CATCH IT. What I have is not a communicable disease, and it’s not my fault. When I am trying to talk to your children on the playground, do me a favor and don’t scoop them up and walk off. I’m just trying to make friends the way I know how. If they don’t learn tolerance and compassion from you, from whom are they supposed to learn it? Not to mention, I’d like to have some faith in you also.
8. I AM NEW AT THIS TOO. That’s one of the extraordinary things about autism, you see. A new person, new expression, new experience – any of these may instigate a different reaction from me. Every day is a new journey for myself and my parents. My point is that you don’t need to be scared because you don’t know what will happen next. Neither do we. 🙂
9. IT IS OKAY TO ASK QUESTIONS OR TELL ME YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND ME. Okay, I’m autistic, I’m not stupid. If what I’m saying to you doesn’t process, then ask me to repeat it. If you still don’t get it, ask my parents. Heck, they may not know either!!!! Regardless, I love it when people engage me. What hurts is when people ignore me. It is okay to question me or my parents – ask away!
10. I AM WORTHWHILE. I may not fit your definition of ‘the ideal or perfect child.’ Just keep in mind that maybe you weren’t either. Maybe your parents had more or less patience than others, or maybe you were more or less difficult; everything is relative. Regardless, I have gifts you don’t understand, and I deserve unconditional love, and even from a stranger, I deserve at least respect.
