The Monument:
God,
Before He sent his children to earth
Gave each of them
A very carefully selected package
Of problems,
These,
He promised, smiling,
Are yours alone, No one
Else may have the blessings
These problems will bring you.
And only you
Have the special talents and abilities
That will be needed
To make these problems
Your servants.
Now go down to your birth
And to your forgetfulness, Know that
I love you beyond measure.
These problems that I give you
Are a symbol of that love.
These monuments you make of your life
With the help of your problems
Will be a symbol of your
Love for me.
Your Father
intro thought to Charlie's Monument by Blaine Yorgensen
How many of
us know 11-year-olds who willingly place themselves in front of the learning
channel? and enjoy it? Jenna has always enjoyed learning. Always.
From the time she was three and could pick out her own books from the
library, we did check out picture books and easy reading like the “Frog and
Toad” series.
But we would
also check out a lot of non-fiction to answer her questions about bees and
honey, or why certain dances are performed in different countries and why the
sun doesn’t fall from the sky. She has
always loved non-fiction books. She
would play games of “Let’s pretend” to understand how it would be to be without
sight or limbs. She never questioned why
there were differences in humans. She
just accepted them and has always tried to learn from them. Today she loves the
learning channel.
Each morning
after she gets up (which is actually quite early for a youth – I have never
known Jenna to sleep past 7:30) she will turn to the learning channel to watch
“Cake Boss”
it is because of advertisements of other programs that has held
her interest in watching other shows – like “Born Without Limbs” featuring NickVujicic.
It’s
fascinating to learn of others who have overcome what many of us consider
physical challenges or obstacles and have often embraced their uniqueness and
use it to help others. We all have choices after all. We can be bitter, or we can be thankful.
I, myself,
have always enjoyed watching even a portion to the lives of “The Little Couple”
– saddened that their lives may not be as private as perhaps each of us would
hope, but happy that they have been willing to share so much of their lives
with an audience – that we might learn.
Everyone has
their challenges. I just think having a
physical challenge seems to be more obvious in appearance than say an alcoholic
or a mentally disturbed individual. On
average, I don’t think we, as a whole, consider a floor plan and living
quarters that works for us may not work or even be practical to someone who is
an obvious different height or is blind or walks with a limp.
I have known
overly tall people. My brother, Patrick
(who really isn’t overly tall – just tall) could unscrew and screw in ceiling light
bulbs without having to stand on something in order to reach – whereas my
daughter-in-law seems to need a foot stool just to reach into the back of the
freezer that may be placed above the fridge.
I'm not overly short, but there was one side of the kitchen in which the cabinets were not within my reach unless I used a footstool to stand on or long handled spoon to push cans out.
I’ve known small people who have struggled at reaching to the
“average height” world around them – perhaps not knowing better. It’s how they were born. It’s how they did
things all of their lives. Nick Vujicici
didn’t have limbs to begin with. I think
it’s easier for a person to learn without than to adjust with what’s
missing. I don’t know – I’m just
thinking that.
I have known a wide variety of people from all walks of life. Some have physical challenges. Some are misguided and struggle to fit in. Some have struggled with balance. I don't think I've met anyone who hasn't had at least one challenge to either overcome or embrace.
We
programmed our cable to record “I am Jazz” and “My Giant Life” as Jenna
is genuinely interested in those – but they don’t start until after she’s gone
to bed. I am grateful that she is
learning and understanding and seeing differences and doesn’t judge but accepts
and tries to embrace as well. I wish we
would all have her understanding and eagerness to learn.
(I’m not
saying she enjoys learning all things.
She struggles with the clarinet.
But Roland has purchased another (second hand, of course) and is
planning to learn along side of her.
That makes it easier for her. And
I admire him for doing that. Learning
the clarinet: their special bonding time together)
