I don't know about in your house, but here Christmas is one of the favourite times of the year, especially for our son James who has multiple additional needs. A month on from Christmas and James was missing the Christmas spirit, so we got him to help make a reminder that he can look at all year round!
Wherever you experience or notice conflict, harshness, unkindness, lack of understanding, and other forms of negativity, let our first response not be to pay it back in return, but to take a deep breath, consider for a moment what might have caused that negativity, and make the choice to show kindness instead. Let us ‘Love one another deeply. Honour others more than yourselves.’ and turn anger, barriers, and criticism into alliances, bridges, and compassion. If we work together on this, maybe, just maybe, it can be as simple as abc!
As we listened to the broadcast itself, James didn’t particularly respond to his voice on the radio, but as it cut to a beautiful sung version of the song James looked up, a joyful smile spread across his face. I smiled back, and a tear welled in my eye.
Zechariah’s family and friends learned how to understand his different forms of communication during the months when he couldn’t speak. We can do the same for the children, young people, or adults that we are journeying with. By adapting our communication to meet the needs and communication styles of those we know, we can enter more fully into their world, understanding them and what they are sharing with us.
Let's celebrate our 'badges' and use them to be a help and a blessing to people who are new to our 'pack', who haven't earned their 'badge' yet, but are working towards it.
For James, bath time provides the perfect dichotomy between something he absolutely loves (having a bath) and something he finds very hard indeed (transitions), and the tension that this creates for him can, sometimes, be almost overwhelming for us both.
What really caught my attention, however, was that none of these families are able to access essential respite support for their child. In every case, Local Authorities have essentially left the families to cope on their own with no opportunities for a much needed chance to recharge their batteries.
So many people said how valuable the evening had been. To gather with other parents, carers, and guardians, who are on a similar journey to themselves; to not feel so isolated and alone; to forge connections and friendships; all was hugely helpful.
If Isaac, one of the most well-known characters of the Old Testament, and ancestor of Jesus, had additional needs or disabilities, what does that say to us today?
I hope that our segment highlighted the challenges, but also the joys, of our story, and echoed the stories of families like ours across the country.
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