My son was named Joseph John after me and “J.J.” as he was called soon became
the most cuddled and photographed child around. He was the first grandchild on
both sides of the family and spent his first Christmas going from arms to loving
arms as everyone wanted a chance to hold him. I looked forward to a blessed life
watching my first born grow up to be a strong and smart man.
That dream, though, wasn’t to turn out the way I thought it would. As my son
entered his second year we realized that his language wasn’t developing as it
should. He only seemed interested in a few things and would jump up and down
over and over to amuse himself. We finally got him tested but were given no
answers. We were only told that he wasn’t normal. It was raining that day as my
wife and I drove home and finally we pulled the car over, held each other, and
added our own tears to the storm.
With the end of that dream came the birth of another. We decided to find out
exactly what was “different” about our son do all we could to help him become
all he could be. Soon a local Doctor saw what the specialists hadn’t. Our son
had Autism. In that day very little was known about Autism or what could be done
to treat it. My wife and I read every article and researched every treatment
there was to help our son. We put our anger at God aside and asked instead for
His love and guidance to help us with our boy. We enrolled J.J. in Special
Education at school and worked with him everyday at home. We were blessed to get
a loving, kind-hearted, and patient personal-aide for him at school and she
became like a second mother to him. It was by her side during another Christmas
season that my boy spoke his first sentence about the beautiful Christmas tree
at the school.
As we continued to work with my son I noticed something else too; his loving
spirit was also working on us. His smile was contagious, his cheer was
infectious, and his innocent love was purifying. Over the years I became a
better, kinder, more loving, and more spiritual person just by being around him.
He taught me so much about love, so much about joy, and so much about embracing
life. His language continued to improve and he became beloved by his teachers,
fellow students, and especially by the school football and basketball teams
where he worked as the equipment manager. His loving presence became a comfort
to my days. His gentleness helped me to deal with money struggles and career
problems. His sweetness helped me when his younger brother was born with an even
more severe form of Autism and I gave up teaching to care for them both.
Now as the best Christmas gift I ever got approaches his 28th Christmas with me
I have realized that he is the gift that keeps on giving. Like a ray of sunshine
he brightens the day of everyone he meets. Like an earth angel he touches the
souls of others with his gentle love. He shares his smile with everyone and
calls everyone by name. He goes through his life making this Earth a little more
like Heaven. He lives out God’s dream for him which is a far better dream than
mine ever was.
I wish all of you a Merry Christmas. May your Christmas and all of your days be
full of the best gift there is, the gift my two special sons give me
everyday-the gift of LOVE. God bless you always.
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