See the World through Different Eyes
It's April...my favorite month of the year! April brings spring, flowers, green grass, my birthday and the birthday of my almost 14 year old daughter Emrey. We also celebrate the season of Easter in April. Easter is a time to rejoice because "Christ is Risen. Alleluia! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia!" What an awesome month!
What you may not know, is we also celebrate Autism Awareness Month during April. Our family lives with Autism. Had you told me 14 years ago, when one of my best birthday presents was born, that autism would be a big blessing in our lives I probably would not have believed you.
Autism has taught our family that we can be strong. Autism has taught us that not everyone understands (and we have had to accept that it's okay). Autism has taught us that God loves us and we are ALL perfect in his sight. Autism has taught us to look at the world and those in it from a different perspective...one of love, acceptance, honesty, persistence, patience and humility. God's purpose for all of us is unique and we may not see or understand His purpose for our lives at first glance. He uses the struggles in our lives to show us how to be strong, to overcome and to use our faith for good in any situation.
Emrey sees the world through different eyes with a clarity and honesty that is bold and beautiful. If you get to know her you will find out that she enjoys learning the color of a person's eyes. Emrey loves colors and uses color to relate to others. She takes time to notice the details that most people in today's busy life don't take the time to see. She helps our family to slow down and really appreciate all the little things that life has to offer. For this we are very blessed and thankful!
Maybe you know someone with autism. Take the time to learn one thing that is special to them...it could be something as simple as the color of their eyes! If they can't tell you themselves, they may want to help you increase your autism awareness by reading this post. It can be found on the Facebook page "Autism Spectrum Disorders, through my eyes":
What is Autism?
Imagine if... You had a bee buzzing around your head and someone asked you to say the alphabet backwards
Imagine if... You were in the middle of a really loud rock concert and someone wanted you to name all your aunts and uncles.
Imagine if... You were wearing three pairs of gloves and someone told you to eat a box of raisins one by one.
That's what things are like for me, a lot of the time. I'm autistic.
Your brain is like the inside of a computer, full of connections and wires with messages to your body whizzing around telling you what to do.
My brain looks the same as yours, except some connections work really well, and some work really differently. And my brain wires can get crossed really easily.
So, if I'm doing something a bit funny looking... try not to laugh at me. It's just one of my brain connections clearing itself out.
And if I tell you something over and over... just ask me to stop repeating. It's just one of my wires plugged into the wrong socket.
And, if I freak out at some sound that you think is really normal... maybe help me get away from the sound. It's just because my ears have their own unique volume control.
And, if you think I'm ignoring you... I'm not. I'm probably just focused on something else, like a tiny spider on the ceiling on the other side of the room.
Autism is a different way of seeing the world. And seeing things the way I see them is awesome, but it makes me really tired sometimes.
So, I might not always understand what's going on. And, I might need time by myself to think things through.
Or, I might crash or jump or swing for a while to straighten myself out
Don't worry if I don't always do things the way you do.
Try to imagine what it's like inside my head, then you'll see...
> I'm not being rude
> I'm not being naughty
> I'm not sick
> I'm autistic
> And I'm just being me!
As we enter the season of Easter let's open our eyes with a fresh perspective. April is Autism Awareness month..open your eyes to see the world through a different colored lens!
Joyfully,
Kari
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2 (ESV)