The Walnut Acre Daily Thursday October 10, 2013

WORDS TO LIVE BY

Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.

~ Proverbs 19:20-21

WORKING, LEARNING AND PLAYING TOGETHER

Today has been wonderful. I was able to take a large part of the day and enjoy some time to just work in my planner, tweak our schedules, do some blog work and simply soak in the peace and quiet. A friend took the kids for me from 9:00 AM until 3:20 PM and I went to the library and for the day. The library is one of my very favorite places to simply relax and regroup. My favorite library even has a little place where patrons can make a cup of coffee or tea and sip while they work. Thank you so much Karen for letting me have this time today.

Later this afternoon I took Amanda to the SPCA so she could work with some of the dogs there. This is still a very important part of her week that she looks forward to very much.

Later this evening is my weekly hour in the Community Prayer Room at church with my friend Tammy. 

IN THE KITCHEN

Breakfast this morning was simple - cereal with milk, bananas and juice. Michael helped me put meatballs for meatball subs in the slow cooker before I left this morning and that was what they had for lunch, along with some applesauce. On my way home from the SPCA this evening I stopped at McDonald's and bought chicken sandwiches for our dinner. 

ON MY MIND

There has been a lot on my mind lately - but one of the things in the forefront has been how much I tend to think I can do things on my own and that no one will understand some of the things I struggle with. But as I've opened up more and talked to more people I've realized how important it is to share with others instead of trying to walk alone. Of course, God is always with me, but He also made us to be in relationship with each other. Anxiety and OCD has made life very difficult for me for a large part of this year (and has been a large part of the reason my blogging has been so sporadic lately) but it has also made me grow in a lot of ways. God has used this time that I've worked on getting past these things to teach me so much about His love for me and His desire for me to stop trying to walk through things by myself. 

READING AROUND THE WEB

A Balanced Life is a Beautiful Life at The Welcoming House

How to Plant a Fall Garden at New Life On A Homestead

TODAY'S QUOTE

As long as you live, keep learning how to live. ~Seneca

Looking Beyond the Labels

We are a unique family. Probably unique in several ways (Isn't every family?) but one of the ways I want to write about today is the presence of all the labels we live with in our house and my love/hate relationship with them (the labels, not the people.)

In our family we carry the following labels - ADHD (3 people), mood disorder (2), Noverbal Learning Disorder, also known as NLD (1),  Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD (1), Intellectual Disability or ID (1).  And some days I think maybe we could throw a few more labels in there just for good measure but I'm really not sure I want to pursue it. 

On one hand, I know these labels are necessary, and help to identify what is going on and give a clearer idea of what we can do to help make things better. 

But, there are also times when these labels frustrate me. They frustrate me because once a label is applied it is far to easy to look at the label rather than the unique, wonderful person who is really there. It is so easy to get so caught up in medications, and therapies and services and appointments and evaluations of every kind and to lose sight of the child. It can also become easy to use these labels as excuses instead of expecting each child to be the very best version of themselves they can be. 

More and more I find myself looking away from all these labels and everything that comes with them and simply asking God who it is He meant for this child to be and how I can be an instrument to help them become that person. And often  that does include therapies and medications and I have no problem with that. But I also believe it is only a small part of the total person.

Of course, this means I have to spend time truly understanding and knowing each child. Sometimes it means working really hard to find ways of doing things that will work for this person. Often it requires looking at some things from a totally different perspective, a complete paradigm shift. And that's okay. That forces me to grow and learn and change and become more than I would ever have become without this mental exercise. And then, because I know how hard it can be for me make that shift, I have a better understanding of how hard it for the child to make the shift from his/her way of perceiving the world to understand mine. 

I often remember what a doctor told me one day when I was on a quest to make things "better." He reminded me that end of the day (or month, or year) regardless of the official diagnosis, each individual is just that, an individual, and they deserve to be loved and respected as that unique individual. Not as a label, but as a person.  


So my goal is to help each child, whether they have a "label" or not, to become the person they were created to be. I want to provide them with a life that is rich and full of experiences that stretch and enrich the mind, body and spirit. I want to see each of these kids soar. 


Jeremiah 29:11 applies to each person equally regardless of labels.


"For I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~ Jeremiah 29:11