I have to admit that I'd never thought about anyone forgetting how to smile or laugh. Smiling and laughing seem to just happen, whether we think about it or not. I learned an important lesson and smiling and laughing a few years back.
In 2003, Christina was just three years old. Three years of listening to and watching her tantrum for hours on end had finally taken its toll. I thought that I was "handling" everything quite well. Christina had received a year of Early Intervention services and she was now transitioning into our county's preschool special education program. She was on a strict gluten/casein free diet. She received speech therapy 2-3 times a week and she had some of the best doctors in the state. I worried about my older children and how having a sibling who required so much of me would affect them, so I enrolled them in SibShops at a local hospital. (SibShops are basically support groups for the siblings of children with special needs). Oh yeah...I had everything covered. Then, on our very first Respitality Weekend in VA beach (provided by Cerebral Palsy of VA), something strange happened while Russell and I were eating dinner. We were away from the children and finally enjoying each other's company again. That's when it happened. I LAUGHED! It was only then that I realized that I had not had a good laugh (or probably even cracked a smile) in months! It was a great feeling, but I was alarmed because it felt so foreign to me.
That night I vowed to keep my head up and to keep laughing. By nature, I am a funny person. I love to laugh and I love to see others happy. The challenges that having a differently-abled child has brought us almost distracted me so much that I'd begun to live my life on auto-pilot. Not anymore! Yes, there are still some really hard days, but I have the blessed assurance that God will always see us through. You can have that same assurance. Don't allow your child's challenges to define you (or your child). Don't allow details about doctor's appointments and therapy sessions to dominate every conversation that you have with others. Learn to take one day at a time and to find at least one thing every day to smile or laugh about.
The Bible says that a merry heart doeth good like a medicine. That has been very true for me. Why not give it a try yourself?
1 comment:
It sounds as if you have quite a vessel of experience to share with others who may be going through what God has already brought you through. I will pass the word to others who could use your encouragement. Stay blessed!
Dr. Haggler
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