Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
The past few months have had their ups and downs. Here is a sampling of what I mean, taken from the last couple of weeks.
A couple of weeks ago we were getting ready to go to the park. I called Hannah to me and told her that she needed to go use the bathroom and put on her sandals. She obeyed and did both requests. That’s when it dawned on me: last year – even six months ago – she wouldn’t have been able to do that two-step command independently!
Then yesterday she sat in a chair in the living room with a book open to one page for two hours. The girls and I made several attempts to invite her to interact with us, but she would quietly answer, “No, thank you” and continue staring into space. (We suspect that she didn’t take her enzymes at lunch.)
April 4, 2005: Excited about her birthday cake.
Today I decided to change her routine at the grocery store. She usually sits on a little bench that is attached to the cart, or “buggy” for all you southerners. Today I told her that I wanted her to walk beside the cart like the other girls did and to help me get the items off the shelf and put them into the cart. Then I braced myself for the meltdown. None came. She smiled the whole way through the store! I tried to use minimal voice instructions and mostly eye contact and facial expressions to direct her to the right items. The first item took a while; she smiled and nodded her head back at me but didn’t understand until I pointed and said, “Put it in the cart.” After that she understood the “game” and played it to the end. She actually enjoyed the change, helped to unload the cart onto the checkout counter, and stayed with us in the parking lot!
Those RDI-type activities of directing her with my eyes and expression remind me of Psalm 32:8, “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” Just as I want Hannah to be continually checking my face for direction, so the Lord wants our eyes to be ever on Him. He wants us to be sensitive to His slightest direction, not so self-absorbed or distracted that He has to take stronger measures to get our attention.
It’s hard to believe Hannah is seven years old this spring. This Sunday will mark three years since this journey began. (Yes, Mother’s Day was the starting point. Quite the significant holiday.) Thanks for sharing the ups and downs with us.
