Our great hope

I remember when Jaybird was one, two and three. We went to countless doctors, had countless tests, spent thousands and thousands of dollars. He was brilliant as a baby, almost in a worrisome way. He was smart and beautiful and compliant. But he had some habits that were unusual. He was also frightened of new adults. He would bury his little head in my chest for thirty minutes to an hour when he was in a new setting. He was a creature of routine and order and peace. While learning came very, very easy for him, physical skills were very difficult. When we took him in for testing we heard words that no parent aspires to hear in the context of her child's health...asperger's, autistic spectrum, sensory problems. Just thinking about the dread and fear we felt makes me feel nauseous.

So without a diagnosis, but the advice to "come back when he is older" and "put him in therapy", we were sent home with a baby that needed extra help. A beautiful, sweet, sensitive, smart little boy that was the joy of our life. For two and a half years we sent him to occupational therapy and paid around $1000 a month. His problems were not "severe enough" to be covered by our insurance. We qualified for no affordable state programs. So we just found the money and grandparents helped here and there. And we worked, and worked and worked at home. We would take field trips to the mall just to see people and learn to make eye contact and greet them appropriately. We bought books and found ways to integrate little exercises into daily life. We stayed on the go being involved in play groups. God blessed us with another baby, little Toot, that brought sunshine and joy and a best friend for Jaybird.

Somewhere between four and seven and a half a miracle happened. If you met my little boy, you would NEVER guess that we had walked this path. You would never know that in some medical papers he was diagnosed with "sensory integration disorder" and "motor apraxia". You would never, ever believe that this young boy was once a baby that showed "autistic tendencies". He is now the boy that has a bigger joke repertoire than anyone in his class, can swim like a fish, eats anything set before him, can read on a fifth grade level, has countless friends, and plays in an imaginary world. The experts told me "he might not develop an imagination" and "he might not develop a sense of humor" and "he might not talk at an age appropriate level". By the grace of God, his IQ test rated his vocabulary, among other areas, at the very tip top of genius.

And finally, if you knew my little baby and didn't know the God that I worship, you might not believe that this baby would grow into the first grader that brought home special news from school today. He proudly handed me a paper that said, "Jaybird is our alternate in the oratorical recital. Out of the entire first grade (granted, there are only a total of 14 children), he came in fourth and will need to be prepared to recite his poem in front of the school in case of illness." Imagine that? A one minute poem, 14 children plus three judge's eye's all on him, standing right in the middle of the room. It would be difficult for anyone!

Please forgive me for bragging I want to be clear that I am boasting in Jesus Christ and the power He has to still do the seemingly impossible. He took a frail, sensitive, overwhelmed little baby and saved him at the age of four. And then He healed him. He didn't do this because we deserve it or earned it, but because He is abounding in grace. How can I keep that to myself?