a wonderful perspective of special needs kids

[Guest guest]

Okay...let me warn you that this will make you cry...it certainly had me

blubbering. But they were happy tears because the message is so beautiful. I

don't pass along things often but this is worth reading.

K

GOD LIVES UNDER THE BED

This deserves some reflection time.

I envy . My brother thinks God lives under his bed. At least that's

what I heard him say one night.

He was praying out loud in his dark bedroom, and I stopped to listen, " Are you

there, God? " he said. " Where are you? Oh, I see. Under the bed... "

I giggled softly and tiptoed off to my own room. 's unique perspectives are

often a source of amusement. But that night something else lingered long after

the humor. I realized for the first time the very different world lives

in.

He was born 30 years ago, mentally disabled as a result of difficulties during

labor. Apart from his size (he's 6-foot-2), there are few ways in which he is an

adult.

He reasons and communicates with the capabilities of a 7-year-old, and he always

will. He will probably always believe that God lives under his bed, that Santa

Claus is the one who fills the space under our tree every Christmas and that

airplanes stay up in the sky because angels carry them.

I remember wondering if realizes he is different.

Is he ever dissatisfied with his monotonous life?

Up before dawn each day, off to work at a workshop for the disabled, home to

walk our cocker spaniel, return to eat his favorite macaroni-and-cheese for

dinner, and later to bed.

The only variation in the entire scheme is laundry, when he hovers excitedly

over the washing machine like a mother with her newborn child.

He does not seem dissatisfied.

He lopes out to the bus every morning at 7:05, eager for a day of simple work.

He wrings his hands excitedly while the water boils on the stove before dinner,

and he stays up late twice a week to gather our dirty laundry for his next day's

laundry chores.

And Saturdays-oh, the bliss of Saturdays! That's the day my Dad takes to

the airport to have a soft drink, watch the planes land, and speculate loudly on

the destination of each passenger inside.

" That one's goin' to Chi-car-go! " shouts as he claps his hands.

His anticipation is so great he can hardly sleep on Friday nights.

And so goes his world of daily rituals and weekend field trips.

He doesn't know what it means to be discontent.

His life is simple.

He will never know the entanglements of wealth of power, and he does not care

what brand of clothing he wears or what kind of food he eats. His needs have

always been met, and he never worries that one day they may not be.

His hands are diligent. is never so happy as when he is working. When he

unloads the dishwasher or vacuums the carpet, his heart is completely in it.

He does not shrink from a job when it is begun, and he does not leave a job

until it is finished. But when his tasks are done, knows how to relax.

He is not obsessed with his work or the work of others. His heart is pure.

He still believes everyone tells the truth, promises must be kept, and when you

are wrong, you apologize instead of argue.

Free from pride and unconcerned with appearances, is not afraid to cry

when he is hurt, angry or sorry. He is always transparent, always sincere. And

he trusts God.

Not confined by intellectual reasoning, when he comes to Christ, he comes as a

child. seems to know God - to really be friends with Him in a way that is

difficult for an " educated " person to grasp. God seems like his closest

companion.

In my moments of doubt and frustrations with my Christianity I envy the security

has in his simple faith.

It is then that I am most willing to admit that he has some divine knowledge

that rises above my mortal questions.

It is then I realize that perhaps he is not the one with the handicap . I am. My

obligations, my fear, my pride, my circumstances - they all become disabilities

when I do not trust them to God's care.

Who knows if comprehends things I can never learn? After all, he has spent

his whole life in that kind of innocence, praying after dark and soaking up the

goodness and love of God.

And one day, when the mysteries of heaven are opened, and we are all amazed at

how close God really is to our hearts, I'll realize that God heard the simple

prayers of a boy who believed that God lived under his bed.

won't be surprised at all!