As my son rode away on the school bus today, I had a flashback to my childhood. I remembered thinking that I was happy that I wasn't on the "short bus". In my mind, being a "short bus" rider was a curse. It meant that you were the butt of all bus jokes, that you were an outcast and reject. Now that I am a mom to a "short bus" rider, my mindset has drastically changed. Here are a few things that the Word of God has humbly taught me by having a "short bus" rider.
1) God is sovereign over every "disability"
But Moses said to the LORD, "Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue." Then the LORD said to him, "Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Exodus 4:10-11
2) God regards the "forgotten"
"But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed..." Luke 14:13-14a
3) God knows what it means to be "rejected"
For it stands in Scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious,and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone..." I Peter 2:6-7
4) God's glory can be displayed through "disability"
And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him." John 9:2-3
5) God has a place for the "outcasts" in His kingdom
In that day, declares the LORD, I will assemble the lame and gather those who have been driven away and those whom I have afflicted; and the lame I will make the remnant, and those who were cast off, a strong nation; and the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion from this time forth and forevermore. Micah 4:6-7
So, I praise the Lord for my precious "short bus" rider. Christian, your life has taught me so much and it continues to teach me. I pray that I continue to see you as God does...skillfully made by His hands (Psalm 139:13-15). I am honored to be called your Mama.
7 comments:
Christian, you are so special to us all, and you have taught us more than you will ever know, and probably more than we even know! :) We are blessed to have known you, and we enjoy watching you grow! We love you!
Ans of course we love all the Turner Family! ♥
I praise God for all He has done in our family through our grandson, Christian. No, we would not have planned life this way, but God knew what our family needed.
He presented us with a very "special gift". One that caused us to strive to have more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. God uses situations in our lives and often people to cause us to seek Him...calling on the Holy Spirit to give us the character of Christ. (Gal 5:22)
I must say, if it took the birth of Christian to drive me to my knees bringing me closer to Christ and giving me a compassion for all God's special need babies then so be it. He knew what I needed to make me more like Him.
Our family and friends will agree that they have been touched by and now have more compassion for those with special needs. Christian is living out his purpose, changing our hearts and minds to undertand the sovereignty of God.
I thank God for my Christian and no one will ever love and appreciate him as much as I do.
hi caryn! this is katy hahn from back at cornerstone! i just made a blog so i've been checking everyone else's out.
i really identify with you on this one. a while back, we found out that my little brother (phillip, 3yrs old) is autistic. he is just now enrolling in speech therapy classes. the autism is just mild, but chances are that when he heads off to school some day, he's going to be riding the short bus. CONSTANTLY, i hear jokes about the short bus in high school, and it makes me feel kinda bad for phillip, especially since I remember myself before i was saved. I used to make short bus jokes, too. i worry about him with all the jokes and stuff when he gets old enough to realize what's goin on, but I know it's all in God's plan and he's gonna bring us all through it just fine :)
But, I'll keep all of you guys in my prayers :)
--katy
Thanks for this wisdom Caryn. We are soon bringing home our daughter from China. She is a special needs baby. We are used to the silent stares as a transracial family, but I'm sure we'll get even more questions about her medical needs. I've shared your advice with my agency group of families who are also adopting (or who have adopted) children with SN.
Thanks for this Godly view for such a worldly phrase and thought! I am the older sister of a child with severe disabilities and now I am teaching special education on the high school level. I love it and I cannot think of a better place to be humbled, awed, blessed and loved. I work in the Essential Skills Class where we get to do all kinds of daily living and communication skills. It is so rewarding to get to work with these students! I get "my kids" off of a short bus every morning and put them back on it every afternoon thanking God for me day with them, praying that they return the next. I thank you for sharing this from a mom's heart.
Such a beautiful post. Blessings to you & your family =)
My son is a short bus rider as well. This post is an awesome way of reminding us all of God's providence, wisdom, power, strength, but most of all grace and love. Thank you for this post.
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