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I wanted to add these poems here. I really
hope they can be used as inspiration.
"How God chooses a Mother for a disabled child"
Most women become mothers by choice, some by social pressures, and a couple by habit this year, nearly 100,000 women
will become mothers of handicapped children. Did you ever wonder how mothers of handicapped children are chosen? Somehow I
visualize God hovering over Earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes,
he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger. "Armstrong, Beth; son; patron saint, Matthew. "Forrest, Marjorie;
daughter; patron saint, Cecelia. "Rudledge, Carrie; twins; patron saint.... give her Gerard. He's used to profanity." Finally,
he passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a handicapped child." The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so
happy." "Exactly," smiles God. "Could I give a handicapped child a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."
"But has she patience?" asks the angel. "I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity
and despair. Once the shock and resentment wears off, she'll handle it." "I watched her today. She has that feeling of self
and independance. She'll have to teach the child to live in her world and that's not going to be easy." "But, Lord, I don't
think she even believes in you." God smiles. "No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness."
The angel gasps, "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?" God nods. "If she can't seperate herself from the child occasionally, she'll
never survive. Yes, there is a woman I will bless with a child less then perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to
be envied. She will never take for granted a `spoken word.' She will never consider a `step' ordinary. When her child says
`Momma' for the first time, she will be present at a miracle and know it! When she describes a tree or a sunset to her blind
child, she will see it as few people ever see my creations." "I will permit her to see clearly the things I see...ignorance,
cruelty, prejudice... and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every
day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side." "And what about her patron saint?" asks
the angel, his pen poised in midair.
God smiles. "A mirror will suffice"
"Welcome To Holland"
By Emily Pearl Kingsley
"I am often asked to describe the experience of raising
a child with a disability-to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how
it would feel. It's like this...
"When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning
a fabulous vacation trip-to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michaelangelo
David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some bandy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
"After months of eager anticipation, the day finally
arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The flight attendant comes and says, 'Welcome
to Holland.'
"'Holland?!' you say. 'What do you mean, Holland? I
signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy.'
"But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've
landed in Holland and there you must stay.
"The important thing is that they haven't take you to
a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
"So you must go out and buy new guidebooks. And you
must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
"It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than
Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around, and you
begin to notice that Holland has windmills, Holland has tulips, Holland even has Rembrandts.
"But everyone you know is busy coming and going from
Italy, and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say, 'Yes,
that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned.'
"And the pain of that will never, ever, ever go away,
because the loss of that dream is a very significant loss.
"But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you
didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland."
Special Child
by Sharon Harris
You weren't
like other children,
And God was well aware,
You'd need a caring family,
With love enough to share.
And
so He sent you to us,
And much to our surprise,
You haven't been a challenge,
But a blessing in disguise.
You
winning smiles and laughter,
The pleasures you impart,
Far outweigh your special needs,
And melt the coldest heart.
We're proud that we've been chosen,
To help you learn and grow,
The joy that you have brought us,
Is more
than you can know.
A precious gift from Heaven,
A treasure from above,
A child who's taught us many things,
But most of all - "Real Love"
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