[Faith-talk] Daily Thought for Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Debbie
mouseless at mindspring.com
Wed Oct 23 22:16:08 UTC 2013
Wow, a heart-warming story; just what I needed today!
Debbie Human
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sheila Leigland" <sleigland at bresnan.net>
To: "Faith-talk,for the discussion of faith and religion"
<faith-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 23, 2013 5:52 PM
Subject: Re: [Faith-talk] Daily Thought for Wednesday, October 23, 2013
> hi great story. Love works miracles.
> On 10/23/2013 1:47 PM, Paul wrote:
>> Well folks, in most of the world it's still Wednesday as I write this,
>> but you in Australia and New Zealand are in your Thursday mornings. Hope
>> you had or will have a pleasant breakfast this morning. As for us in the
>> Americas, we're in our afternoons as I write this, except for you West
>> Coasters. At any rate I hope that your day is going well.
>>
>> Today's article is about a dog and a little boy, but no ordinary dog and
>> no ordinary little boy. It is entitled "When Michael Met Rosie" and was
>> written by Clare Guthrie of Manassas Park, Virginia, a southern suburb of
>> Washington DC. It is rendered as follows:
>>
>> My older kids wanted a dog. But I worried about my youngest. He
>> couldn't tell me what he wanted.
>>
>> "We're getting a dog! We're getting a dog!" the kids chanted from the
>> back of our car on the way to Pennsylvania to pick up Rosie, our new Lab,
>> from her foster home. I glanced back at my teenager, Aaron, his younger
>> sister, Rachel, seven, and brother Joshua, five, who hadn't stopped
>> talking about Rosie since we'd pulled out of our driveway in Virginia an
>> hour before. Only my two-year-old Michael was silent. He was just as
>> excited, but he couldn't join in with the chatter of his siblings. I
>> felt a familiar ache in my chest, knowing how badly Michael wanted to
>> join in, and knowing it was impossible. It was a pain I felt often, ever
>> since we found out about Michael's condition.
>>
>> I knew something was different about Michael at six months old. Josh and
>> Rachel walked and talked early. But our otherwise healthy-looking baby
>> boy had trouble even crawling. Michael couldn't roll over and he
>> couldn't sit up without toppling. Even more troubling, he never
>> developed baby talk. I wondered if he'd ever speak. His brother Aaron
>> has cerebral palsy, and I feared Michael might have a disability, too.
>> Michael was diagnosed with dyspraxia, a developmental disorder that makes
>> it difficult to perform complex functions. Michael's trouble with
>> speaking was part of that disorder, called Childhood Apraxia of Speech.
>> He wanted to speak, but his mind just wouldn't let him.
>>
>> Even now, at two years and three months, he still couldn't say much more
>> than "mama" or "dada" when he wanted us for something. And often, we
>> couldn't understand what he wanted. His speech therapist helped us teach
>> him some basic sign language. Even that was hard for him. A few days
>> earlier, Michael tried to ask me for something, but he couldn't form the
>> signs. Instead, he began gesturing wildly. "I'm sorry, Michael. I
>> don't understand," I told him. His face turned a deep shade of red; he
>> went into a tantrum, letting out a high-pitched scream. I felt so
>> helpless. My baby was hurting, and I could not do anything for him.
>>
>> I looked in the rearview mirror back at Michael, who was staring out the
>> window. This dog, I hoped, would be something he could enjoy. My
>> husband, Doug, and I had done our research. We looked for a Labrador, a
>> breed known to be good with kids, a young dog so it could grow up with
>> our children. We found Rosie on the website for a Lab rescue agency. A
>> 14-month-old chocolate Lab, with experience around babies, children, and
>> cats. All of our "dream dog" qualities. But would she be right for our
>> family? Was I wrong to hope? Finally, we pulled up to Rosie's foster
>> home. I silently prayed, "Please, God, let Rosie be right for our kids,
>> especially Michael, but don't let me hope for too much."
>>
>> Doug lifted Michael out of his car seat while I went to the door with the
>> other kids. "You must be here to see Rosie," the woman said. And there
>> Rosie was, standing in the foyer, tongue hanging out, her tail wagging
>> wildly. Aaron, Rachel and Joshua ran up to her.
>>
>> "Rosie, you're so beautiful," Rachel said, ruffling her smooth fur.
>>
>> "Hi, Rosie," said Aaron, scratching her behind the ears. Love, at first
>> sight, I thought. But what about my two-year-old? Michael ambled over.
>> He patted her gently on the head. Rosie nuzzled against him. I breathed
>> a sigh of relief.
>>
>> I was about to follow the woman into the other room to talk to her about
>> the dog when I heard a voice, an unfamiliar voice. "Rosie," the voice
>> said, strong and clear. "Rosie!" It was Michael. I looked at Doug, my
>> mouth agape. "Rosie!" he said again, nuzzling against the dog. Now,
>> Doug and I were the speechless ones.
>>
>> Rosie sat in the back with the kids on the way home. "You're going to
>> love our house, Rosie Pops," I said.
>>
>> The kids loved the nickname. The whole ride back, that's what we called
>> her. We were about halfway home when Michael spoke again. "Rosie Pops,"
>> he said. One word was amazing enough, but two words together? In one
>> day? Doug and I chalked it up to Michael's excitement. Don't get your
>> hopes up, I reminded myself. How often had I seen progress when there
>> was none? "God," I prayed once more, "make this dog a good fit for our
>> family."
>>
>> A few days later I was folding laundry, watching the kids play with
>> Rosie. Michael stood next to her, petting her as she rubbed up against
>> him. Then, without warning, she jumped, and Michael lost his balance. I
>> watched in horror as he fell over. I dropped everything and rushed to
>> him. But I calmed down when I saw Michael laughing. He pushed off the
>> carpet and stood, following Rosie again as she raced around the room. I
>> watched more closely. Rosie wasn't being reckless. Every time she
>> nudged Michael, she did it gently, almost as if she were testing him.
>> And each time he fell, she waited by his side studying him until he rose
>> to his feet. It was a little game they were playing. A game Rosie was
>> using to learn things about Michael.
>>
>> The next night, at dinner, Michael shocked everyone when he said,
>> "Juice." Right out of the blue! A day later, he said, "Dog."
>>
>> It's hard to describe the astonishment that took over our house. Over
>> the next few weeks, he added more words: candy, cookie, car. He was
>> also becoming less clumsy, rarely stumbling. His speech therapist was
>> baffled. "Kids with apraxia don't progress like this," she told me.
>>
>> I was baffled, too. I went on an apraxia website and emailed for
>> information. "Is there anything about dogs helping kids with apraxia?" I
>> asked. Yes, as it turned out. Studies found the stimulation a dog
>> brings can awaken muscles necessary for speech and other bodily
>> movements. Each time Michael laughed, fell, and got back up again, his
>> brain was busily connecting the dots between his muscles and his actions.
>> Now I knew why he was improving. I went up to tuck Michael into bed. He
>> was exhausted from playing with Rosie all day. I pulled the blanket up
>> to his chest and gave him a kiss.
>>
>> Michael moved his lips. "Luv vu," he said. Did he say that? Michael
>> spoke again. "Luv vu," he said.
>>
>> I wrapped my arms around him. "I love you, Michael," I whispered through
>> my tears. "I love you, too."
>>
>> I shut off his light and headed to the living room. Rosie lay curled up
>> by the TV. I stroked behind her ears and told her what a good girl she
>> was. She was teaching Michael so much--and me, as well. God answers
>> prayers in many ways. This time He chose a dog to answer ours. Hope
>> comes in many forms, and I must never forsake it.
>>
>> Family Room
>>
>> "He amazes us every day," says Claire Guthrie of her three-year-old son,
>> Michael, who has the developmental disorder dyspraxia. "He knows all his
>> colors, and his movement is now on par with other kids his age." A few of
>> Michael's favorite things? Running around at the local park with his
>> beloved Labrador, Rosie, and playing make-believe. "He loves pretending
>> to be Indiana Jones!" says Claire. These days Michael prefers to go by
>> his nickname, Ponie. "As a baby, Michael had a low muscle tone.
>> Sometimes he'd nearly fall back when we held him, so we'd say, Whoa back,
>> little pony! The name just stuck!"
>>
>> Claire, a photographer, enjoys capturing her family on film, and with her
>> husband, Doug, their five children, Rosie, and two cats, she's not short
>> on subjects! "I love capturing memories in images," she says.
>>
>> Well, my fellow readers around the world, if this story wasn't an
>> inspiration to you (which I hope it was), all I can say is that I'm not a
>> good judge of people's likes and/or dislikes. Claire's story only goes
>> to show that "nothing is impossible with God," as the late Eugene Clark
>> wrote many years ago.
>>
>> And now may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe,
>> individually and collectively, in these last days in which we live. Your
>> Christian friend and brother, Paul
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