As this week rolled out and it became clear to me it would be a challenging week, I had to reflect on the beautiful words of the heart song we were set to cover in this week’s classes. One thing that has been helping me so much and giving me a renewed resilience is the fast recovery from shocking news and the ability to problem-solve on a moment’s notice.
A week back, as Adelia was coming home from the hospital, I got a note from the school saying I needed to hire a tutor to catch her up on missed classwork. Over a 24-hour period, I was able to assemble a one-page instruction on how to integrate kids with disabilities back after a hospital stay. I was pleasant and firm. I found out yesterday they are using my letter with bullet points as a guide, and things are going well for Adelia reintegrating back into classes with extra support.
Henry’s school got 50 new kids; at one point, I counted 25 kids with one teacher in Henry’s class. On several occasions, I was able to speak with the director and voice my concerns (which were many), and now, five days out, there have been huge improvements. I know my conversations helped. Some clothes had been taken from Henry’s backpack for another child. I was able to bring in two large bags of 19-month clothes our friends had dropped off – not in great shape, but fine to send a kid home in if they had an accident—so the issue of taking Henry’s clothes for another child should be resolved for the time being.
Adelia’s teacher pulled her out of chapel to discuss the details of her episode that landed her back in the hospital. I thanked her for all her love and support for Adelia and instructed her not to do that again, as she has therapists to speak to about her issues.
The YES waiver program was supposed to kick in. It turns out the people helping us never did what they said they would do and never escalated her case. I called and spent a good deal of time with SS getting her case escalated.
Henry’s neurologist never scheduled the MRI. I called their office a couple of times, but even before that, I went to Henry’s pediatrician asking her to do it, and she said no – the neurologist has to do this. As a result of my advocating, we now have a neurology appointment, an MRI hospital date, and a nutritionist sensory diet evaluation scheduled.
Honestly, I felt like I was slaying dragons all week. So perfect timing – understanding how precious I am to God was exactly what I needed to keep up the drive forward for both kiddos.
Precious
I am God’s delight.
I am His precious child and chosen one.
In my existence, I cause Him joy.
He created me precious, pure.
Because I am His, darkness dwells not within me.
I have, each time, asked God to take the immediate pain, stress, and frustration from me so that I may respond in a helpful way. It’s amazing how the angst is gone so rapidly, and I am capable of responding in helpful, supportive, and clear ways to get resolution to issues that all need immediate attention. This leads me to recall Gracious and how vital it is in our movements in the world, especially under challenging circumstances.
Gracious
To be gracious, I first experience the overflowing and unending love of God.
He created me to be gracious to others as He provides graciousness to me.
In turn, I experience graciousness from others coming toward me,
Because it is who I am and what I draw to myself.
For me, gracious is benevolence, magnanimousness, and chivalry.
It is dignified, merciful, and, in its active use, honoring.
Somehow, in an FASD Caregiver program on Positive Results, having just listened to the presentation on Zoom, the presenter used foul language and stopped himself, said, “I’m sorry, Julie,” then kept going with the wrap-up. Can we actually have that effect, where we bring such graciousness to every interaction that even as a silent listener, we affect the outcome for many others?
Hoping your week wasn’t as intense as mine was, but if it was, hoping you got to feel God loving on you this week too.