Sundays are hard. Just plain hard. I love going to church. I love to meet with my brothers and sisters. But by the time I get everyone up and fed and clean and dressed and out the door, I'm usually feeling cranky and mean. I find myself asking questions like, "Is it worth it?" and "Is this a season? Will it get easier?"
After church today, the families and volunteers involved in our special needs ministry met for lunch and a discussion about sensory processing disorders. The room was nuts, mainly because of my kids. But, because I was in a room full of people who "get it," I didn't get anxious like I normally would.
Do you "get it?" By that, I mean, do you understand that kids with different needs and challenges are not something to fear? Do you understand that people with different needs and challenges have a complete range of feelings, emotions, hopes, fears and more? Are you uncomfortable about people who are different?
Today I heard a story of one of my boys' teachers/nursery workers. This person was afraid of my son with Down syndrome at first. Growing up, this person was never exposed to anyone with special needs. Kids like mine were kept separated from "normal" kids. This person must have panicked the first time I dropped my boy in her class. I was oblivious, of course.
Thank God for my wonderful sisters at church who have stepped up to help my kids get the most out of their church and Sunday school experience each week. Over the past few months, thanks to our awesome helpers, this particular teacher/nursery worker has had their eyes opened to the miracle of watching my boy come alive, learn to interact with other children, and grow in faith. No fear anymore. He's just another kid now.
It's hard. But it's worth it.
Maybe it's not easy, but it's good.
3 days ago
2 comments:
I would rather have a room full of kids with special needs than a room of typically developing kids. Especially kids like your Ralph! He is a sweet kid! Ivolunteer as a buddy at our church and my buddy is a 4 yr old boy with autism. He is my favorite kid in his class! He has this great way of looking at the world and learns in such a differwnt way, it is a lot of fun teaching him about Jesus. I wish more people would drop the fear and see the potential for not only teaching children but also for their own learning! And hey, we are also teaching this class of 4 yrolds how to interact with people of different abilities, too! :)
We're in the "Sundays are hard" phase at the moment. :( We stay home more Sundays than we attend church because it's so hard. No one seems to care if we're there or we aren't, so we take the easy way out and just stay home. I know in my heart we desperately need the fellowship, but we just can't work up enough enthusiasm to actually get there.
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