I began a blog series on Post Tenebras, Lux, which means, “after darkness, light” upon inspiration after attending the Sing! Conference hosted by the Getty’s. The series is posted on the Key Ministry Special Needs Parenting blog, but I’m including the first part of the post below. You can find a special social media post shared by Joni Eareckson Tada about this series by clicking on the “On Social Media” button above.
I had the privilege of attending the Sing! Conference hosted by Keith and Kristyn Getty, who are modern-day hymn writers and talented musicians. It was three and a half glorious days filled with beautiful music, incredibly talented musicians and songwriters, teaching by some of the most influential pastors of our day, and biblical encouragement from Joni Eareckson Tada herself. Thousands of people from all over the world descended on the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN for this incredible conference, and 16,000 attended a concert of music and preaching at Bridgestone Arena, where Joni led us in the most moving and soul-stirring a capella singing of “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name,” the likes of which I wonder if I’ll ever experience again this side of heaven.
Being immersed in that worship-filled environment for three days straight was most refreshing and needed for my weary soul. To be surrounded by people singing praise and worship, knowing we all have our baggage and various temporary and permanent thorns, yet there we were: singing our hearts out, being encouraged in song with the voices of thousands uplifting our hearts and minds to focus on the One who loves us most, the only true Hope we have in this fallen world of darkness and despair. The One who allows trials, challenges, hardship, disability and death uses those things to make us more like Christ, redeeming the despair into delight through the light of Christ. He repurposes it all into something more beautiful than we ever thought possible; He strengthens our feeble knees to stand on a solid foundation of hope, that He is making all things new, both now and forevermore.
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My son Samuel was diagnosed with autism at 28 months old. He was mostly non-verbal, except for when he scripted his favorite movie lines or spelled out letters he saw on signs. He had no meaningful communication and he screamed a lot. He repeatedly banged his head on the floor when he had meltdowns. He slowly cut back on the foods he willingly ate until eventually, he only ate goldfish and applesauce. He screamed in people’s faces when they greeted him at church. He had very little eye contact. He didn’t follow simple directions or listen to me when I told him to “come here.” He lined up his toys and would scream if they fell over or if he could not get them to stand exactly where he wanted them.
Sam is nine years old now. He is mainstreamed into his 4th grade class at school. He just graduated out of group speech therapy. He is very verbal. Sometimes, a little too verbal. He has meaningful communication. He can tell me what he wants and he can use manners to do it (though whether or not he uses them is a different issue altogether.) He uses sarcasm and tells jokes. He yells at his brothers and tries to tell them what to do. He can maintain eye contact for longer than two seconds. He is mostly able to respond appropriately to people when they greet him at church – at least he doesn’t scream in their faces anymore. He eats just about every fruit known to man and has a broader palate than his 7-yr old brother who is not on the spectrum, but still only has three foods he willingly eats. He follows simple directions and obeys me about as often as my typical 11-yr old son. He is now what most people would consider “high functioning” on the autism spectrum. He has come so far.
Yet, sometimes I actually feel guilty about his progress.
Keep reading at my writing home for today at Special Needs Parenting: High Functioning Guilt.
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The sanctuary was dark. The air was thick with grief, tension, and anticipation of what we all knew was coming next. But nothing prepared me for what my eyes were about to behold. I was watching our church’s Easter pageant from the middle of the large auditorium. We had just witnessed the Passion of Jesus as He had been tortured and crucified. The scene was dark, the people quiet. Suddenly, a bright light shone from the stage, illuminating a massive wall of angels from the ground to the ceiling, lined across the entire width of the stage. They were all wearing white and singing with choreography. I couldn’t help but cry at the sight. It was beautiful. But I wondered, how did they do that?!
The secret? A scrim. The image above shows a crucifixion scene set up behind the scrim that is only visible to the audience when lit from behind. If the light behind the scrim was not on, all you would see is the Roman soldier in the blue light, lit by a spotlight in front of the scrim.
Read more about the scrim of disability and the work God is doing behind the scenes at my writing home today, Special Needs Parenting.
How do you see God at work in the heart of your child with disability?
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