Seeing Things God’s Way

Café Menu for Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Today’s Special is:  Degrees of Autism

Carefully prepared just for you by your friend, Margaret

Main Ingredient: “As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.’”  John 9:1-3, ESV

Entrée:

The day my grandson was born, I was overjoyed. He was the first child of my son and our first grandson. With tow-headed blonde hair, he was beautiful to see then, and even more so now, eight years later.

It became apparent by the time he was about a year old that he was not communicating with others. He would sit and watch Sesame Street for hours, oblivious to anyone or anything else in the room. He loved to “sift” things through his hands onto the floor.

I had read the symptoms of autism and began to realize this was a possibility. I was heartbroken. As we all do from time to time, I began to wonder, ”Why?”.  How could this be happening to our “perfect” family?

Funny, isn’t it, how we are conditioned by the world?  By our own human nature, we believe that everything should be perfect with no flaws or bumps in the road. The fears I had were of not knowing the severity of Logan’s condition and what his quality of life would be.

I went to God with my fears and anger that such a thing would happen to my beautiful boy. As the loving Father that He is, He listened and began to bring me words of encouragement and strength from His Word. He assured me that He is in control, He has a plan for everyone’s life, and He would provide the strength we would need.

It took longer for his parents to admit that there was a problem. He was finally diagnosed at age four. Logan is high-function autistic. This means he does not display some of the symptoms of more severely autistic children, but he sees things differently and reacts differently in many situations. He is very intelligent and is a math whiz. No one in his class can keep up with him. He has trouble grasping abstracts and is very structured.

As I live with this amazing little boy, I realize what a blessing he is to our family. He has taught us that God’s standard of success is far different than that of this world. We have learned that being the best is not an absolute. It is being the best that you can be, and it is different for each one of us. I have learned more about dinosaurs, math problems and video games than I ever would have known, because he excels in these areas and knows every detail about them. I have been filled with joy as I help Logan with his homework  and watch his face light up when he “gets” it. I know it sounds strange, but doing homework is the most special time of the night for us. It is there that I see the incredible little boy that he is.

God says in Jeremiah 29:11 that He knows us before we are born and that He has a plan for each life that he creates. If I believe Him, then I know this is true. His plan for Logan may not be what we had in mind, but who knows what he will accomplish?  I am excited to see what that marvelous little mind will do, although I may not understand exactly how it works; but then, do any of understand how our minds work?

Autism may not be mentioned by name in the Bible, but we have many examples of people who were not the norm. In each instance His Word is very clear that they had a purpose. Most commonly, Jesus tells us that their circumstance is to be used to glorify God. What a blessing! God has entrusted us with a special boy, just as He has so many other families with special needs children. When he tests my patience (as he does daily), I am comforted by verse after verse from His Word that encourages me and gives me strength for this journey.

If you are also traveling this journey, my prayers are with you as a sister on the same path through life. I know many of you deal with more severe situations than I do, and my prayer is that you have the help and resources that you need. Remember, the strength comes from Him and he will always uphold you.

Take-Out: When you are discouraged and think you can’t go on, please comfort yourself with scripture. Here are a few of my favorites:

Dessert:  Oh, Father, as we travel through this life, thank You for showing us the plans You have for our lives. Give us the strength to veer from the path this world has set forth that everything be perfect, for we know that our world is anything but perfect.  I thank you for all my grandchildren, and I am so blessed to have Logan. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 © 2012 by Margaret Curtis. All rights reserved.

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