Category Archives: Making a Difference

God’s UPS Drivers

In a recent post, entitled American Heroes and Idols, I lamented our culture idolizing self-serving public figures like Alex Rodriguez, instead of heralding other-oriented public servants. I ended that post by saying, “I plan to detail examples of these (more wholesome role models) in one or more future posts.” I’m beginning this by using today’s article to tell you about one of these true heroes in the community where I live. My intent is for this to be the inaugural post for a separate page on Here I Raise My Ebenezer, to catalog the stories of these, often, unsung heroes. My hope is that you, our Readers, will send us recommendations for articles like this about such heroes that you become aware of in your life. It doesn’t matter if the impact of their efforts is local or national or international. They may be people effecting great community service who just don’t seek the limelight. Or, they could be public figures who, outside of what they’re best known for, are quietly using their blessings to bless others. Regardless, please send us your recommendations so that we can share them, as examples of true heroes who selflessly build up our community rather than selfishly adding to its decline.

The man behind the following video, entitled US Digital Reaches Out, is the subject of our first article in this series.

Continue reading

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Filed under community, Making a Difference

Starfish and Ideals

As this launch of Here I Raise My Ebenezer was coming close, it struck me that the old story of the Starfish Thrower would serve as an excellent metaphor for what this site is about. I can’t tell you how many years ago (probably decades) it was that I first heard this story but it immediately and deeply touched my heart. It still does, anytime I think of it. If you’re not familiar with the Starfish Thrower Story, here is a brief version:

A young girl was walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up during a terrible storm. When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean. People watched her with amusement.

She had been doing this for some time when a man approached her and said, “Little girl, why are you doing this? Look at this beach! You can’t save all these starfish. You can’t begin to make a difference!”

The girl seemed crushed, suddenly deflated. But after a few moments, she bent down, picked up another starfish, and hurled it as far as she could into the ocean. Then she looked up at the man and replied,

“Well, I made a difference to that one!”

Often, when I’m confronted with the daily news, I have that same sense expressed by the man on the beach when he said, “Little girl, why are you doing this? Look at this beach! You can’t save all these starfish. You can’t begin to make a difference!” Today, we hear of so many things going so much in the wrong direction in our world that when we wish there was something we could do about it, it seems overwhelming. But, the little girl in the story responded in the right way, the way we should be responding to the issues facing us, when she just diligently went back to the work that could be done immediately before her, saying, “Well, I made a difference to that one!”

The About page of this site says, “The aim of this site is to serve as a platform for presenting views that support America’s founding ideals, rooted in Judeo-Christian values, relative to issues impacting our community today.” Hopefully, you’ll find it obvious why I said that the story of the Starfish Thrower serves as an excellent metaphor here. We don’t expect that Here I Raise My Ebenezer will cause an immediate 180 degree turn in the devolution of our society but issue-by-issue, as the little girl in the story did starfish-by-starfish, we hope to bring healing to ills weakening our community’s foundation.

The role of our Writers is to speak up on these issues, to inform and to encourage constructive action. As Editor, on behalf of our Writers, I want to thank you for joining them here, to gain from their writing and to learn what you can do to end up being able to say, “Well, I made a difference to that one!”

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Filed under community, Culture, ideals, Making a Difference, society, values

“Train up a child in the way he should go …”

– The Story of an Exceptionally Good Teacher,
Getting This Job Done –

The first time I REALLY became aware of Carrie Newton, she had come to work dressed as a Crayon. If, like me, you’ve spent most of your working life in the business community, you may be thinking that I’m talking about a colleague who ended up in serious conversation with her boss and/or HR regarding proper attire for the workplace. However, I should point out that, this past September, I started working in an Elementary School. Knowing that and knowing that Carrie is the Kindergarten Teacher whose classroom is next-door to the classroom where I work, should make her being dressed as a Crayon sound a bit more appropriate. Actually, I had noticed Carrie wearing costumes on two or three previous occasions. I’m not sure what it was but there was something about seeing her dressed as a Crayon that made me realize she is a person who is very enthusiastic about her work and it made me think that, if more Americans were as passionate about their work as Carrie is, the American workplace would be greatly improved.

Thanksgiving marked the next significant step in my interest being piqued by Carrie. Although this, too, involved Carrie wearing a costume, giving you more details than I did about her day dressed as a Crayon is in order. First, providing details about the costume, itself, are important. You may not be surprised to learn that Carrie was dressed as a Turkey for Thanksgiving but you can’t really appreciate it without experiencing it first-hand. Hopefully, the photo provided here will help. More important, though, are details about the Thanksgiving Program that Carrie led while in her Turkey costume. Since Carrie has responsibility for both a morning and an afternoon Kindergarten class, there were two Thanksgiving Program presentations. I got to attend them both. Again, you can’t really appreciate this without experiencing it first-hand but here’s an overview that I hope will be helpful: Continue reading

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Filed under Education, Making a Difference

Let’s Sit Together!

Although I’ve been a Contributor for Red County for nearly 2 ½ years now, I’ve continued to imagine an idealized blog I think of as We The Purple … where posts are more aimed at building on the common ground between the Reds and the Blues. It’s sort of my American Dream. Frankly, I was pretty much ready to give up on anything about that dream becoming a reality, as I observed the sad spectacle of those using the recent tragedy in Tucson to disseminate hatred for their political opponents. Thankfully, with the passing of time, the balance of commentaries has shifted quite heavily towards more sanity and truth. Along with these more rational and edifying words, have come some worthwhile suggestions for concrete actions that can be taken to move our nation in the direction of my American Dream. One of these is the idea put forward by Colorado’s U.S. Senator (D) Mark Udall that, for the upcoming State of the Union speech, Democrats and Republicans sit together rather than dividing up by party. I think this could be an excellent first step in the right direction.

I realize some may say that Udall’s suggestion is nothing more than empty symbolism. Of course, it would be symbolic but I don’t see it as being empty. I can remember participating in a TweetChat group around the time the Tea Party started forming. During one session, one participant commented on “those across the aisle” and stated that he wanted to “destroy them”. My @Reply to him was to remind him that “those across the aisle” are our fellow Americans and that aiming to “destroy them” was not appropriate. Since following Udall’s suggestion would mean that Reds and Blues wouldn’t actually have an aisle between them, it should make it easier for them to see each other as fellow Americans.

Others may say that Udall’s suggestion seems like a typical Liberal reaction, looking for an opportunity for us all to hold hands and sing Cumbayah. I suppose some may have that sense in doing this but I see it as an action that can begin to effect positive differences in the way our elected Representatives work together. My views on this come from the practical experience of having run a network of office equipment Dealers for over a decade. One of the biggest advantages to using a Dealer network, as a channel of distribution, is that you have the opportunity to have your products and/or services represented by the strongest independent office equipment companies in their respective markets. One of the biggest challenges with this is that you’re working with the strongest independent office equipment companies in their respective markets … underline the word independent … and having them work together seamlessly with their fellow Dealers doesn’t come naturally. One of the best strategies for overcoming this challenge is to get the Dealers together regularly, giving them many opportunities to socialize. When you’ve had brunch with your neighboring Dealer at the Moana Surfrider and you’ve taken a picture of him and his Wife, as they shop along Kalakaua Boulevard, it becomes much more difficult to be stiff-necked with that guy the next time a Dealer Territory dispute arises. I see Udall’s “Let’s sit together!” suggestion as holding this same potential for our elected Representatives.

One aspect of Udall’s suggestion that makes it more likely to be a “Cumbayah moment of empty symbolism” is that it’s a suggestion for a one time event. To really effect positive differences in the way our elected Representatives work together, I suggest that this step should be applied in general and not just for the State of the Union speech. My thinking is that, if our Senators and Members of Congress regularly find themselves in circumstances where they’re less self conscious about expressing views that may conflict with the stance of the party they’ve chosen to align with, it’s more likely that they will succeed in expressing the views of those who they’ve been elected to represent. According to Carl Anderson’s new book, Beyond a House Divided: The Moral Consensus Ignored by Washington, Wall Street and the Media, “In dealing with many high profile issues, we have found consensus where conventional wisdom would have us believe it is most unlikely: on the issues of religion in public life, abortion, marriage, and the role of government, among others.” According to this, We The People are, in fact, We The Purple. If so, all the more reason for eliminating artificial barriers that prevent this productive environment from being a reality and instead, foster a counterproductive atmosphere.

Finally, I want to suggest that, if this step can be taken, that we not stop there. One question I haven’t addressed here is: Why have our Senators and Members of Congress been sitting separately, by party, for State of the Union speeches up to now? The answer is that it’s just been a custom. There is no requirement to do so. With that in mind, I think the time is right for us to take a close look at all the routines our elected officials follow that aren’t requirements. The goal in doing this, of course, would be to determine if these routines should be replaced with methods that are more effective for our elected officials in truly being our Representatives.
Comments

Let’s Sit Together

Submitted by Craig Williams (not verified) on Sun, 2011-01-16 15:17.

0

+-Gary, I wholeheartedly agree with you! We are all citizens of the same great country and no matter what our political differences we are all due respect and civility.

Our state and country is in fiscal crisis, and fighting over deck chairs while the ship sinks is foolish.

– Craig Williams

Vancouver, WA

advocatus diaboli

Submitted by Michael Frome (not verified) on Sun, 2011-01-16 16:50.

0

+-Hi Gary, I’m going to not exactly disagree with you in spirit, but would like to add my observations as a neophyte in the political realm.

I have in the past (as I still do) been able to see and even articulate different sides of a policy argument, even when thinking about a policy in which I’ve decided my position…indeed, such thinking is needed to determine one’s position.

Having said that, I see myself as a historically moderate independent who has been pushed with great force directly into the conservative camp. There are some aspects of conservative ideology that I quite frankly disagree with; however, in the face of a liberal agenda, relentlessly pursued, and which in my opinion has both the capacity and aim of destroying aspects of my freedom that I hold dear, I must choose a side and act upon that choice with vigor.

In short, my view is that the current liberal movement as embodied by the democrat party has an aim to unlawfully restrict my exercise of freedom, and the conservative movement embodied by the republicans…much less so.

In my experience, the greatest damage is done when these two groups actually are acting in concert, because it often represents an unholy compromise that yields principles to expediency.

Seating by State

Submitted by Jon Russell (not verified) on Sun, 2011-01-16 20:30.

0

+-I think they should be seated by State Delegation. The States they represent are more important than party politics.

Seating by State

Submitted by Gary Wiram on Mon, 2011-01-17 07:19.

0

+-Thanks for the suggestion, Jon. I very nearly included that suggestion in my article. However, I think this is a good idea for State legislatures too.

seating by delegation

Submitted by Michael Frome (not verified) on Mon, 2011-01-17 10:32.

0

+-I really like that idea!

It would serve as a reminder to our representatives (of both parties) that there exists within their constituency people of different opinions who are also entitled to be heard and whose concerns must be weighed.

Perhaps it would provide a better mechanism to demonstrate to them that they owe their allegiance and effort to all of their constituency, not only their base. Hard to say. Perhaps it would just make everybody really uncomfortable until someone had the gumption to propose changing the rules back to “party seating”…it would be an interesting experiment.

seating by state delegation

Submitted by Craig Williams (not verified) on Mon, 2011-01-17 17:03.

0

+-An excellent idea Jon!

– Craig

In memory of Judge Roll in particular

Submitted by David Knight (not verified) on Mon, 2011-01-17 18:52.

0

+-I would be more in disagreement. While I appreciate the need to keep a civil tongue, and avoid unfounded and personal accusations, there has been all too much R’s and D’s ganging up against the people. When politicians get along too well, all their friends get bailouts and the public gets the bill.

They are indeed a political class which walk around airport body scanners and exempt themselves from mandatory federal health plans. This is why there is a tea party. There is absolutely NO mandate for ANY more laws, especially in the realm of gun control for the little gal.

If they want to have a little friendly competition to see how many “oh so well intentioned but” repressive laws they can lift off our backs, that might be a good place to start. The FDA for instance, would make a fine consumer advisory panel – a place from which they can justify all those decisions made on our behalf – to all the other advisory organizations that will spring up to guide consumers in their quest for REAL health. They are one of the main reasons our health care system is a mess today.

Great and mighty organizations seek to mislead us – and as in the past – will stop at NOTHING to achieve their ends. In memory of the Assassinated Judge – who was a true constitutionalist and hero to our country – we could stand a bipartisan effort to return to the principles that made this nation great, the original intent of the constitution that we swear an oath to.

The enemy

Submitted by Edmundg (not verified) on Tue, 2011-01-18 01:39.

0

+-Horse manure! Now, I know that there is a huge push for civility in political discourse, but it is only in one direction—we conservatives must be civil, whilst the left has no such restrictions. Consider the “Daily Kos” printing a headline shortly after the Tucson shooting: “Mission Accomplished, Sarah Palin!”

What many do not yet realize is that there are very few Democrats remaining in American politics. That party has been usurped by communists. Yes, yes, I realize that they prefer other names, such as liberal, progressive, social democrat, socialist, state capitalist, etc. But you can paint a jackass with zebra stripes all you want; it is still a jackass. These are communists and they are hell-bent upon overthrowing the greatest Republic ever. Therefore, they are the enemy!

What they are doing is illegal and unConstitutional, and I resent it.

Hahahahahaha, yup, you’ve got

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 2011-01-18 14:05.

0

+-Hahahahahaha, yup, you’ve got us Edmundg, we’re communists, all of us. Because, as you well know there’s a pretty straight line between “healthcare for poor people” and “lets overthrow the government and do only what the government tells us to”. What’s worse than that is that not only are we communists but we’re actually attempting to destroy America. It’s probably because we hate all of the good that America does, because as well as know communists are also all godless and actually are the creation of the devil to destroy mankind as we know it. It starts with protecting the poor, and who knows, after that maybe ensuring clean drinking water and then BLAMO, instant American destruction.

What’s especially fiendish is that, in an age of 24-7 news coverage, we’ve managed to usurp an entire political party and have just lying in wait for when we can send out the secret communist signal to have all Democrats rise up and destroy the government from within. Why we didn’t take over the Republican party, which would be far less obvious, is beyond me (especially since we got together as communists have been unable to do in the past and decided to take over a national political party at all levels). Oh well, what can you do…

I do hope you realize that I’m being fully facetious and am really just mocking the absurdity of your claim. I mean, at least disagree with me on issues in an intelligent manner like a rational person, but please try to stay away from the conspiracy-theory type broad-based personal attacks. They come across as rather, well, desperate.

I agree with the point of this post though, I think the idea of sitting together at the SOTU is a great idea.

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Filed under leadership, Making a Difference, politics

An “Off-Duty” Grandpa’s Perspective On Autism

NOTE: This article was originally published in A Few Days With Figgins.

Just after the beginning of the current School-Year, I started working, as a Para-Educator, with 10 little guys in a Special Program (Structured Communication Center) Class. The “Special Program” is for kids, ranging in age from six to 11, who have challenges, primarily, stemming from Autism. Other contributing factors include some retardation in mental and/or physical development. Those closest to me know how this came about. If you’re surprised to learn that I’ve been working in this capacity, I’ll provide some explanation later. But, first, I want to tell you about what a wonderful unexpected and unplanned (by me) blessing this has been.

When I say “unexpected”, one aspect of this is that I have to admit, if a basic job description for this position had been given to me before I started, it’s likely that my reaction would have been, “Whoa, that’s not for me!” That, in fact, has been a common reaction I’ve gotten when I’ve told others what I’ve been doing. It has seemed that their summary view of the job is as a babysitter for some really hard-to-be-with kids. With that in mind, I want to share some details about my experience.

The Guys

Each of my “10 little guys” has a unique story. I’d love to share their stories with you, in complete detail, in order to share the blessing I’ve received through my experience with them. However, doing that would inappropriately compromise their privacy. Hopefully, without improperly disclosing private details, the following summaries of my experience with each of these “little guys” will help you connect with my sense of being blessed through this:

– A seven-year-old whose challenges include a soft pallet – The first time I heard him speak, I had no clue what he said. Later, I learned that he is fluent in American Sign Language (ASL) and that his IQ is higher than anyone else in the class, including the adults. Corrective surgery (for the soft pallet) has been a consideration but, presently, it appears that this will self-correct, with growth. It’s great to hear him speak more clearly, daily, while seeing him progress with his curriculum and to be able to move to taking more of his subjects in Gen Ed classes.

– An 11-year-old, who is probably the most challenged kid in the class … probably more like what I and others have in mind when we say, “Whoa, that’s not for me!” Trying to work with him can be very frustrating. I’ve had more than one occasion where my sessions with him involved him slumped on the floor, while I waited for him to become compliant. On the other hand, I’ve had him go through multiple exercises for simple rewards and a high-five. My favorite times with this “little guy”, so far, have been when he just looks me in the eye and smiles or laughs or when he walks over to put his head on my chest or when his exercises are done and he can sit in his rocker while we listen to a James Taylor CD. Although I do nothing to violate the school district’s policy relative to “the separation of Church and State”, I’ve found that my silently praying for my “little guys” is acceptable and I know it’s good. As you might guess, this is how I spend much of my time with this particular “little guy”.

– Another seven-year-old, whose biggest challenge is the need for routines and dealing with any changes to those routines – Sometimes it’s possible to reason him through this and some times he just “melts down” and ends up in the Quiet Room, which is available for helping to deal with “melt downs”. My most notable experience with this involved Recess. I had marveled at the complexity of a routine that this “little guy” would follow, repeatedly, on the playground. One day, as he was running this routine, he looked at me and said, “Wap, Wap.” I asked him what he meant and again, he said, “Wap, Wap.” I, then, said, “What is that? Is it a sound?” He said, “Yes.” So, I asked what makes that sound?” and he answered, “Two Waps.” This “little guy” can be quite amusing so, at first, I sort of thought he was making a joke. Eventually, I figured out that he was telling me he was running laps (Waps) and he was keeping count. When I mentioned this to the Teacher, I discovered that this is a behavior known as “Stemming” and that it is to be discouraged. As you might expect, the first time I had to deal with discouraging this on the playground, this “little guy” ended up in the Quiet Room. Thankfully, we discovered that by taking a soccer ball out to the playground and kicking it around with him, encouraged him to use the soccer ball to interact with the other students and since then, no more “Waps”.

– One other seven-year-old is easily the most natural athlete in the class. I’ve said he is like “a Cirque du Soleil performer, in training.” Most of his time on the playground, he spends by himself on a swing. I’ve seen him swing high enough that, on the back-swing, he is looking at me over the top bar of the swing set. On one occasion, at the height of his forward-swing, I saw him dismount. As you might expect, this nearly caused heart failure in me but he perfectly “stuck” the landing. Since then, I’ve been on the lookout for a gym program where he could fit in and fully develop his athletic gifts. The flipside of this is that getting him to do anything that isn’t athletic can be very difficult and since he is “easily the most natural athlete in the class”, getting him to be compliant is a challenge … dealing with his aggression can require more than one adult. The fact that he is completely non-verbal makes dealing with this even more difficult. With all this said, when you do get him to sign a new word and he gives you an ear-to-ear smile, as you give him a reward and a high-five, you truly relish that small progress.

– The six other “little guys” in the class have their unique stories too. The biggest and oldest is still quite innocent and he knows more about dinosaurs and the eras they lived in than anyone else I know. Another 11-year-old has some genetic defects that have significantly weakened him physically and mentally. You couldn’t ask for a sweeter little guy, though. Some place along the way, he must have really enjoyed Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.” Almost anytime he is asked about a name, you can hear him softly say, almost under his breath, “Gaston!” Another “little guy” has the attention span of a puppy but his graceful athleticism, his flair for the dramatic and his tendency to find anything he can find to wear as a mustache could lead him to Hollywood. A 10-year-old is one of the most difficult personalities to deal with because, when given a behavior choice, he will consistently go with the most annoying. Though it requires extreme patience, underneath that you find an ability to be quite tender with others. One other seven-year-old can be unresponsive or very slow to respond and his verbalization is very little and very subdued. When he does pay attention, though, you can tell that he has much more intelligence than you might give him credit for. Last but not least is the smallest “little guy” in the class. Although he has some challenges with socialization, communication and learning; his biggest challenge is his need for eating therapy. He’s a lovable little character and if the eating therapy can be successful, his growth and development should improve.

As I’m sure you can tell by now, these “10 little guys” had me by the heart in no time flat. By the end of my first week, I found myself thinking about things like how much I’d like to be present to see two of them (who currently do work at about the same level) walk across a stage to get their High School Diplomas. Much of this may come from the fact that I consider myself an “Off-Duty Grandpa.” I have three grandchildren who are close to being grown up, who live about 2500 miles away. Though I’ve wanted them to be a part of my life and vice versa, that hasn’t happened. I, also, have a 2 3/4–year-old Grandson who lives about 1000 miles away. We’re more a part of each other’s lives but the 1000 miles keeps that relationship from being all we would like for it to be. I guess the Net result of this is that there was a pretty good sized empty spot in this “Off-Duty” Grandpa’s heart that these “10 little guys” fit right in to.

Keys To The Lock

Although I can’t give you specifics about my “10 little guys”, without inappropriately compromising their privacy, I want to encourage you to check out some related stories that are publicly available. One of these stories can be found in a book entitled Unlocked. Coincidentally, during my first couple of weeks working with my “10 little guys”, this book was released by, a local Christian Writer, named Karen Kingsbury. A local newspaper article says that Unlocked is about “kindness that unlocked a soul” by helping a boy “… break through the barriers of Autism.”

Among the great blessings for me, working in this Special Program, has been getting to witness six other adults working tirelessly to do all that they can to help my “10 little guys” find the “keys to the locks” of their individual “barriers.” The Special Program Class that I’ve been working in is part of an, otherwise, General Education K-5 Elementary School. The class is headed up by a Certificated Special Education Teacher, who is assisted by six Para-Educators. Two of these folks are Moms who have “little guys” of their own at home who are dealing with the challenges of Autism. Another is a woman who has raised 10 kids of her own plus she has worked in Special Ed for over 12 years. These are truly amazing people that I’ve been honored to work alongside.

I’ve, also, been blessed to get acquainted with some extraordinary parents. Here too, it’s necessary for me to discuss this in a way that doesn’t inappropriately compromise privacy. So, I’ll just note that I’ve witnessed the difference a family can make, resulting in one “little guy” being among the most high-functioning in our class when his diagnosis might lead you to expect him to be more along the lines of the “hard-to-be-with kids” folks have in mind when they say, “Whoa, (that job is) not for me!”

Beauty From Ashes

As a man of faith, one of the most important related aspects to a topic like this is to address questions like, “Why would a loving God make ‘your little guys’ Autistic?” For me, the answer is pretty simple, “He didn’t.” There was no Autism in the Garden of Eden and there will be no Autism in Heaven. Autism only exists in this Fallen World. What a loving God does about that is the important observation to make. I think this is best expressed in Scripture, in Isaiah 61:3 where it says that God’s aim is “To give them beauty for ashes.”

The adults I’ve mentioned in this article are great examples of this. These are all intelligent, well-educated, attractive people who could be “doing better for themselves” in a number of other pursuits. But, they are following what God put in their hearts to lovingly pour all they can into these “little guys” in order that they can do “better for themselves.”

God has seen to it that my own story falls under this heading too. Earlier, I said, “If you’re surprised to learn that I’ve been working in this capacity, I’ll provide some explanation later.” Well, a full explanation will require another article but here’s a bit about that. When Ruth (my Wife) and I decided to move to this area from Southern California, about 5 ½ years ago, we felt led by the Lord to do so. Our plan and expectation was that, with our changed circumstances, we would be fine financially with me working at a mid-level Sales or Sales Management job, while Ruth wouldn’t have to work, if she didn’t want to. After more than two years of things not going the way we expected for me, we decided it would be prudent for Ruth to go back to work. As you might expect, we were regularly wondering why God had led us here and why things weren’t going the way we had expected them to. My first glimpse of starting to understand this involved the job that Ruth ended up in. Actually, I need to be circumspect about that too. Let me just say that her job involves working with some youngsters whose epitaph, according to me, would surely be “Never Had A Chance!”, if it wasn’t for the work that Ruth and her colleagues are doing. When I started hearing some of the successes coming out of that environment, I started recognizing why God had called Ruth out of Orange County. Eventually, I even recognized that “things not going the way we expected for me” was a circumstance God had used to get Ruth where He wanted her. Since I’m not the “quick-study” in our family, it took me another three years to get where I am. There are numerous details that I could share about what went on with me in those three years but the important thing is that I finally found the door that the Lord had opened for me and on the other side, I found an “Off-Duty” Grandpa and “10 little guys” who really needed each other.

Before moving on from how my story falls under this heading, I want to share an important aspect about how some folks have reacted to my doing this work. My background is primarily in Sales. In recent years, I’ve developed a minor reputation as a Writer. Considering that and how different it is from the work that I’m doing as a Para-Educator, it’s understandable that this has taken some folks by surprise. Beyond that, I’ve sensed that some may think that, in using my time to do the work I’m doing, I’m wasting “greater talents.” This came out most poignantly for me, when I attended an event where a wealthy friend of mine was featured as the Keynote Speaker. One thing I admire most about this friend is the metaphor he uses to express his view of the wealth God has blessed him with. He views himself as “One of God’s UPS Drivers” and he says, “As long as I deliver what He puts on my truck where and how He wants it delivered, He keeps putting more stuff on my truck.” While this friend was speaking, at the event I mentioned, another friend and I were commenting on what a wonderful job the Keynote Speaker was doing of using the talents God has blessed him with. Then, she leaned over and whispered in my ear, “You should be doing the same with your talents.” I didn’t ask but I think she had my writing ability in mind. Anyway, I responded by leaning over and saying, “You’re familiar with the metaphor that (the Keynote Speaker) uses about being one of God’s UPS Drivers?” She nodded “Yes.” Then I said, “Well, He gave me a school bus. It has 10 really important packages on it. It was totally unexpected but that’s what He gave me.”

Another great story that falls under this heading involves a well-known man who I admire … Chuck Colson. Again, “coincidentally”, during my first couple of weeks, working with my “10 little guys”, I heard Colson and his Daughter, Emily, on Focus On The Family’s radio broadcast. The Colsons were on to talk about Emily’s book Dancing With Max, the story of Emily and her Son, Max, who is Autistic. As you may know, Chuck Colson had a career as a Marine and he served in the Nixon Administration. He, also, served time in prison for his role in Watergate and coming out of prison, he founded the now overwhelmingly successful Prison Fellowship Ministries. With all that understood, Colson said that the two most daunting circumstances in his life were facing going to prison and watching his Daughter, as a single-parent, raise a child, who is Autistic . Out of this, though, came a man whose life had been too busy to spend much time with his Daughter when she was growing up, who now spends time with Max as his only “agenda item” and when he does this, of course, he is spending time with that Daughter, Max’s Mom. Now there is some really great “Beauty from ashes”!

Your Turn!

When working with these “little guys”, especially the non-verbal ones, it’s not uncommon to show them how the task before them is done and then to say, “Your turn!” In closing, I want to encourage as many as I can to consider how you can take “Your turn!” and be the source of kindness that can “unlock” souls by helping our children break through their individual barriers.

In case you haven’t noticed, my “10 little guys” are all guys. I think it was my second day on the job when I asked the Teacher, “Where are the girls?” The answer is that Autism is mostly found in boys. Not long after that, I thought about the staff and the opposite question struck me, “Where are the guys?” Aside from me, the rest of the staff is female. In fact, there are 51 employees at our school and only seven are male. Sadly, it’s all too common to hear stories like that of Emily Colson … a child is born, who is Autistic and the Dad disappears. Hopefully, something I’ve said about my “10 little guys” and how working with them has blessed me will inspire others to do likewise. But, I really want to encourage more guys to do so. Seeing a good example of an adult guy being an adult guy can make a world of difference to these “little guys.”

If you’d like to learn more about Autism and start getting a better idea where you might fit in and help, a couple of good places to start are Autism Speaks and the Autism Society of America.

Especially For My Pro-Life Friends

The Pro-Life organizations I’m familiar with do all they can to provide the help needed for babies who have challenges that some would use as justification for their abortion. Babies born with Down Syndrome may be the most common example here. However, I don’t know how active Pro-Life organizations are in helping to provide for the needs of babies born with Autism. Perhaps that’s because the cause for Autism is, as yet, unknown. But, it’s being worked on and once it is known, I fear, prenatal testing will be developed for Autism. Joni Eareckson Tada recently released a book, entitled Life in the Balance, that broadly addresses this. A thumbnail description of Life in the Balance says:

Life in the Balance helps readers discover answers to the difficult issues covered by the evening news (street violence, abortion, autism, genocide and stem-cell research).”

Perhaps not so coincidentally, Chuck Colson wrote the Foreword for Life in the Balance. In that, Colson says:

“Joni will teach you how to fight on behalf of those who are quietly being targeted for extermination.”

My encouragement to my Pro-Life friends is, if you’re already involved in helping to provide for the needs of babies born with Autism, remain diligent and be alert to the mounting threat alluded to in Life in the Balance. And, obviously, if this is a topic that has eluded your attention to some degree, I want to encourage your awareness and your activism.

Late Breaking News!

One detail I’ve left out here is that I actually came into this role as a Substitute Para-Educator. The woman who was doing this job moved, with her Husband, to another part of the country. After my first week on the job, the Teacher asked me to continue as a Sub, until the job was filled permanently and she asked me to apply for the job. I did but a person who is already a full-time employee in the school district also applied and of course, she had seniority. So, it looked like my sixth week would be my last week with my “10 little guys.” Surprisingly, the other applicant decided to stay in her current job. The job was formally offered to me, I accepted and since then, I’ve been working as a full-time Special Program Para-Educator. Yay!!!!!!!

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