Today's miracle

If he was just blind, this would be so much easier.

There. I said it. I see no reason to hide the truth.

That doesn't mean I don't love him as he is. It doesn't mean that I doubt his place in our family. It doesn't mean that I won't do everything I can to help him.

It does mean that I want him to be the victorious person that God promised he would be.

And so I'm becoming one of those moms. One of those parents who is searching out every single therapist or doctor or specialist or *gasp* medication that I can to bring us some relief from his defiant, manipulative, and self-injurious behaviors.

But in the midst of all of this striving, I am also on my knees begging the God who knows him inside and out to please, please bring the promised victory. Today. Now. Right away.

A little over a week ago I was impressed with the thought that I should carefully choose some Scriptures to pray over him daily. I already have a passage that I pray over him just as I do all of the children but this would be a list to keep in his room to audibly pray over him. Every morning, he eagerly snuggles in my lap as I pray these 7 passages over him. We start with the fruit of the Spirit which he has already memorized and often recites with me. His favorite words seem to be perseverance and self-control. Good words for him. We end with a section of the Scripture I have prayed over him nearly from the beginning. Psalm 20:7 is written as, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." For the purposes of this daily prayer, I have changed it to read,  "Some trust only in medicine and therapists and their own intelligence, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." This is not to say that we do not seek the wisdom of those to whom has been given wisdom that we don't have but that our ultimate trust is in the One who gives that wisdom and intelligence.

And then on Sunday, the speaker in our adult Sunday School class continued a series on spiritual authority. He told the story of a time when he taught in a school for children with emotional needs. He and a few other Christian teachers often met to pray before the school day. One day they decided to go around the school and anoint each room with oil, praying over the school, the teachers, and the students. He reported that the student's negative behaviors were significantly less that day. But then, like the Israelites, and like us, this group of praying staff members so quickly forgot and did they continue to anoint the rooms and pray over them every day? No, they did not.

He told this story, not to suggest that anointing someone or something with oil is always going to produce the expected results. It is not a name it and claim it mentality as there also needs to be an intimacy with the Father and a hearing from the Holy Spirit in each situation. However, his story spoke to me. I've been sensing for some time that we should be more purposeful in praying over Victor, his room, and his behaviors. I talked to the Good Doctor about this one day a few weeks ago so we did follow through. That one day.  The Good Doctor had already left this morning so when Victor woke up, I first anointed his door before entering and then again anointed his forehead while praying for him.

Tuesdays are rough days for us. Victor's TVI (teacher of the visually impaired) comes on Tuesdays and we spend most of the 45 minutes listening to Victor scream, "No," while banging his head and running away from us. He is completely defiant and refuses to participate in whatever pre-braille activities she has brought. I usually have to sit in the room with them, playing bouncer and running interference. Today, however, was different. Not perfect, but different. And I had even forgotten to put his weighted vest on, a fact which we did not catch until about halfway through this session. Today he spent the first 15 minutes totally and actively engaged with her, following her directions, and obediently responding to each request. I was even able to leave the room during this time and allow the two of them to interact. The middle 15 minutes were a bit more difficult, more like the past, but then even in the last 15 minutes he allowed her to re-introduce some of the activities she had tried during the middle part of the lesson.

In the midst of visits with behavioral specialists and play therapists, it was refreshing to watch a miracle unfold in front of our eyes. The difference between today's session and the last month of sessions (since transitioning to the intermediate unit from early intervention) was nothing short of miraculous. A miracle this Israelite needed to see today.

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27: 13 -14

Note to self: Only be careful that you do not forget! Deuteronomy 4:9