When Colored Plastic Begins to Fade
Monday, August 30, 2010
The first week of another school year was met with many a tear. Some of these tears may have been for joy, but my guess is most of them were an outward sign of the passing of time. Even though I am blessed with one last year with our youngest son before he enters kindergarten there is no escaping it, I am no longer a young mom.
We all find ourselves at crossroads as we traverse the terrain of our lives. Whether your crossroad is at the moment the colored plastic begins to fade, or the season when your heart feels torn out as your baby leaves for college, the choices are the same. We can turn in sadness and lament the loss of our youth, or we can turn in gratitude and excitement for the dawning of a brand new self.
As Colored Plastic Fades
I thought I would never see the day
The colored plastic began to fade
But today as you turn 4 and 6 and 9
I realize my babies are no longer mine
Today, upon gazing down the hall
Large colored plastic toys replaced by small
Your hands once awkward, clumsy, and tight
Now balanced, manipulative, and precise
The days of chaos and clutter too will pass
Tears will fall wishing them back at last
Heartbroken I am, ever wishing them away
The day the colored plastic began to fade
Mom 2009
So we move on, never wishing them away but trying not to be imprisoned by the beautiful memories of the past. We work to always stay in the present and thank our lucky stars for the special friends we have to share the journey. We were never meant to go it alone.
I received the honor of having an essay included in a very special book about this journey. “From the Heart,” is a collection of stories and poems that track the fun, the challenges, and the truly phenomenal aspects of parenting. All proceeds from this collaborative effort will go to children’s charities helping fund medical care and research to find cures for some of life’s most devastating diseases.
The book is a perfect gift for mom, grandma, or any child mentor.
Below is a Q&A with Beth Davis the founder of Write for Charity to provide you some more information about the project.
Q: Tell me a little bit about this project.
A: From the Heart is the brainchild of the ladies at Write for Charity. After finding out that her youngest daughter needed surgery, our chief editor, Beth Davis, felt a driving urge to make a difference in the lives of children, particularly sick children. The idea of writing a book for charity had been thrown around our office for some time, but she jumped in with both feet to get it moving.
Understanding that writing a book in a short period of time would be an unrealistic task, the ladies went full steam ahead in search of collaborators. They searched magazines, the blogosphere and writers groups from around the country for the best and brightest writing talent they could find, extending invitations as they went. After sorting through over 300 submissions over the course of several months, From the Heart was born. The book is a creative collaboration of nearly 100 different stories and poems from all aspects of parenting. July 1st was the kickoff to our 90 Day Challenge and we’ve been moving ahead with book sales ever since!
Q. What is the 90 Day Challenge?
A: The 90 Day Challenge is a book sales drive that represents a goal that we set for ourselves and the collaborative authors who are choosing to participate. The goal is to jumpstart sales of From the Heart in the first 90 days by selling 10,000 copies of the book and raising a large lump sum of money for charity immediately.
The book is currently only available for sale on our website at www.writeforcharity.com, but it will be available at many other retail locations following the 90 Day Challenge.
Q: Why not make it available through a national distribution channel during your 90 Day Challenge?
A: We elected to sell the book at www.writeforcharity.com during 90 Day Challenge and wait to distribute the book into bookstores like Barnes and Noble and Borders and on website like Amazon.com due to the costs associated with a distributor. By selling the book on our website, we are able to control in house costs, raise profit margins and, in turn, donate more money to our selected charities.
Q. Who will benefit from this project?
A: The desire to contribute to children’s charities has driven this project from the very beginning. Since the minute we decided to publish this book, we knew that children’s hospitals and juvenile disease research foundations would be the beneficiaries when it came to fruition. All of the profits from this book will be split between various Children’s Hospitals and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Center.
Q: So, 100% of proceeds from this project go to charity?
A: One hundred percent of profits will go to our selected charities. Obviously with a project like this, you have printing costs, but other than that, we have committed all of the funds to our selected charities. Our authors have donated their work, our editors have donated their time and our graphics people have donated their talent. We are very lucky to have such a wonderful group of talented people involved in this project. For a list of contributors, visit www.writeforcharity.wordpress.com/the-authors.
Q: Tell us something we don’t know about your project.
A: Well, the biggest thing would definitely have to be the caliber of our contributors. We have several nationally recognized writers in our group of nearly 80 contributors and many of our contributors have been featured in nationally distributed publications, on popular websites or on television. Their willingness to donate their work to our cause is admirable and I know that everyone who reads this volume will enjoy their poems and stories. Together with our contributors, we have begun a grassroots effort to raise funds for our wonderful charities that is growing by the day. Their eagerness to help get the word out about the book is admirable and we appreciate their support.
Q: What’s it in for me to support this project?
A: The charity situation on a national level has taken a severe beating as of late. Many incidents of run ins with unsavory “charities” have appeared in the media in the past several years. Many individuals and companies have completely lost trust in those trying to do good work because of a few “bad eggs.”
Many individuals have contributed time and effort to put this project together. Our authors contributed their work out of the kindness of their hearts and our editor, layout artist and designers all contributed time as well. Because they believe in the mission behind this project, to help children in need, we hope you will take the time to support us and purchase a copy of the book. The book in itself is a fantastic product and by purchasing, you are helping a good cause.
Q: How can I support Write for Charity’s From the Heart?
A: There are a number of different things you can do to support the project. First and foremost, you can click here to buy a book! On our website, we have the ever popular blog buttons which I have starting seeing crop up all over cyberspace. You are welcome to download the “supporter” button for your own website if you are so inclined.
This is the first anthology we have done and with the success we are already seeing with it, we know it won’t be the last. Contact one of our editors at press@writeforcharity.com for more information on how you can contribute to one of our upcoming projects or help to support our current project.
We all find ourselves at crossroads as we traverse the terrain of our lives. Whether your crossroad is at the moment the colored plastic begins to fade, or the season when your heart feels torn out as your baby leaves for college, the choices are the same. We can turn in sadness and lament the loss of our youth, or we can turn in gratitude and excitement for the dawning of a brand new self.
As Colored Plastic Fades
I thought I would never see the day
The colored plastic began to fade
But today as you turn 4 and 6 and 9
I realize my babies are no longer mine
Today, upon gazing down the hall
Large colored plastic toys replaced by small
Your hands once awkward, clumsy, and tight
Now balanced, manipulative, and precise
The days of chaos and clutter too will pass
Tears will fall wishing them back at last
Heartbroken I am, ever wishing them away
The day the colored plastic began to fade
Mom 2009
So we move on, never wishing them away but trying not to be imprisoned by the beautiful memories of the past. We work to always stay in the present and thank our lucky stars for the special friends we have to share the journey. We were never meant to go it alone.
The book is a perfect gift for mom, grandma, or any child mentor.
Below is a Q&A with Beth Davis the founder of Write for Charity to provide you some more information about the project.
Q: Tell me a little bit about this project.
A: From the Heart is the brainchild of the ladies at Write for Charity. After finding out that her youngest daughter needed surgery, our chief editor, Beth Davis, felt a driving urge to make a difference in the lives of children, particularly sick children. The idea of writing a book for charity had been thrown around our office for some time, but she jumped in with both feet to get it moving.
Understanding that writing a book in a short period of time would be an unrealistic task, the ladies went full steam ahead in search of collaborators. They searched magazines, the blogosphere and writers groups from around the country for the best and brightest writing talent they could find, extending invitations as they went. After sorting through over 300 submissions over the course of several months, From the Heart was born. The book is a creative collaboration of nearly 100 different stories and poems from all aspects of parenting. July 1st was the kickoff to our 90 Day Challenge and we’ve been moving ahead with book sales ever since!
Q. What is the 90 Day Challenge?
A: The 90 Day Challenge is a book sales drive that represents a goal that we set for ourselves and the collaborative authors who are choosing to participate. The goal is to jumpstart sales of From the Heart in the first 90 days by selling 10,000 copies of the book and raising a large lump sum of money for charity immediately.
The book is currently only available for sale on our website at www.writeforcharity.com, but it will be available at many other retail locations following the 90 Day Challenge.
Q: Why not make it available through a national distribution channel during your 90 Day Challenge?
A: We elected to sell the book at www.writeforcharity.com during 90 Day Challenge and wait to distribute the book into bookstores like Barnes and Noble and Borders and on website like Amazon.com due to the costs associated with a distributor. By selling the book on our website, we are able to control in house costs, raise profit margins and, in turn, donate more money to our selected charities.
Q. Who will benefit from this project?
A: The desire to contribute to children’s charities has driven this project from the very beginning. Since the minute we decided to publish this book, we knew that children’s hospitals and juvenile disease research foundations would be the beneficiaries when it came to fruition. All of the profits from this book will be split between various Children’s Hospitals and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Center.
Q: So, 100% of proceeds from this project go to charity?
A: One hundred percent of profits will go to our selected charities. Obviously with a project like this, you have printing costs, but other than that, we have committed all of the funds to our selected charities. Our authors have donated their work, our editors have donated their time and our graphics people have donated their talent. We are very lucky to have such a wonderful group of talented people involved in this project. For a list of contributors, visit www.writeforcharity.wordpress.com/the-authors.
Q: Tell us something we don’t know about your project.
A: Well, the biggest thing would definitely have to be the caliber of our contributors. We have several nationally recognized writers in our group of nearly 80 contributors and many of our contributors have been featured in nationally distributed publications, on popular websites or on television. Their willingness to donate their work to our cause is admirable and I know that everyone who reads this volume will enjoy their poems and stories. Together with our contributors, we have begun a grassroots effort to raise funds for our wonderful charities that is growing by the day. Their eagerness to help get the word out about the book is admirable and we appreciate their support.
Q: What’s it in for me to support this project?
A: The charity situation on a national level has taken a severe beating as of late. Many incidents of run ins with unsavory “charities” have appeared in the media in the past several years. Many individuals and companies have completely lost trust in those trying to do good work because of a few “bad eggs.”
Many individuals have contributed time and effort to put this project together. Our authors contributed their work out of the kindness of their hearts and our editor, layout artist and designers all contributed time as well. Because they believe in the mission behind this project, to help children in need, we hope you will take the time to support us and purchase a copy of the book. The book in itself is a fantastic product and by purchasing, you are helping a good cause.
Q: How can I support Write for Charity’s From the Heart?
A: There are a number of different things you can do to support the project. First and foremost, you can click here to buy a book! On our website, we have the ever popular blog buttons which I have starting seeing crop up all over cyberspace. You are welcome to download the “supporter” button for your own website if you are so inclined.
This is the first anthology we have done and with the success we are already seeing with it, we know it won’t be the last. Contact one of our editors at press@writeforcharity.com for more information on how you can contribute to one of our upcoming projects or help to support our current project.
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Row, Row, Row Your Boat...
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily…
Life is but a dream.
I hit my early forties before I realized the profound meaning hidden in this preschool rhyme. Within its simple and whimsical lines, runs a deep and eternal truth about our lives and how we perceive them.
Row, row, row… without movement there is no meaning. For an event to occur and for us to perceive it requires two objects existing relative to one another and moving within time and space. To row is to move.
A while back I posted a blog titled: Time, a toilet paper roll, and a paintbrush stroke.
This stroll speaks to the fascinating and relative concept of time itself. You may enjoy it.
I believe the adverb chosen in the first line of "Row, row, row your boat" is well thought out and critically important.
Gently. What an interesting choice don’t you think?
What about the second line; merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily? Four times, now this must be important. What does this word, merrily, mean? The Webster dictionary defines merrily as being cheerful or joyous in disposition or spirit. Nice. No wonder it gets poll position in the middle of the ditty and repeated four times. To approach our lives merrily is to be grateful but not too serious.
I have to confess I have fallen short in the merrily and the gently categories over the years.
Life is but a dream. What! Where did that come from? We were clipping along in a children’s rhyme, so we thought, and then, “Life is but a dream?”
Is it?
If one believes in the science of general relativity of space and time, then why not?
If one believes in the transitory nature of all things material, then why not?
If one believes in a dynamic and expanding universe that came into “being” at a moment in “time” during some enormous movement when time too “began,” then why not?
So, there you have it.
In a childhood rhyme we have movement, consciousness, experience, joy, and a dream.
Aren't you curious to know more about this Dreamer?
Love your thoughts. Have a great weekend, Michele
Quiet Greatness Among Us
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Being in healthcare, I am thrust into a uniquely intimate relationship with people. This relationship is absent any true invitation on the patient's part. These individuals certainly do not invite into their lives the reason why I am there. Mine is a sacred profession. On a daily basis, I come face to face with my own fragile humanity. I treat individuals whose lives instantly change at the moment of an accident or the day when word of a diagnosis is given. All of the people I treat have amazing lives and intriguing stories. Within the chaos of any given day, we sometimes forget how really fascinating people are, and how blessed we are with the opportunity to be in communion with them.
A couple weeks back I was in the home of one of my patients living with the diagnosis of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and into the room came a handsome gentleman in his 70’s. My patient introduced this man as his surrogate father and mentor, Jerry, who was visiting from Hawaii. This gentleman, who appeared younger than his years, had undergone knee replacement surgery and was continuing to have significant pain and decreased mobility. My patient and I had previously discussed a remarkable technique my husband, David, provides to help regenerate and strengthen both cartilage and the non-contractile white tissues a.k.a. ligaments and tendons. As Jerry asked for the basic information about prolotherapy and how he might access it in Hawaii, I remember being taken with his gentle demeanor. I asked Mr. Coffee a few questions, but it was obvious he did not wish to interrupt my patient’s treatment session or take up too much of my time.
As I packed up to leave the house, my patient told me a little more about Jerry Coffee. What he told me was enough to make it clear this was much more than a humble man in his seventies with bad knees... But aren’t we all. I did a little research when I returned home that evening. The quote below is taken from the front page of Jerry's website:
Captain Coffee’s tag line for his inspirational speech reads, “Reaffirming the invincibility of the human spirit.” This is a phrase not at all foreign to me, a phrase from my own lips. These are the exact words I use when describing what my patients with spinal cord injury, brain injury, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, and ALS have revealed to me over the years. I must admit though, my greatest teachers are the individuals I have come to know who are living through the diagnosis of ALS.
I know Jerry sees his courageous younger friend, Mark, as a man who is overcoming the insurmountable obstacles of being a prisoner of ALS.
For me, I am grounded and humbled by the presence of these two great men living their lives in courage, faith, and grace. I feel enormously blessed to be in communion with the invincibility of the human spirit. Moving forward, I hope that I can in some way mirror their steel faith during times of fear, adversity, and self-doubt. In Captain Coffee's own words to change my prayer from, "Why me God?" to "Show me God."
Go forward this week in awareness, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have entertained angels without knowing it.” Hebrews 13:2
I know this to be true. My advice... Slow down so you don't miss the angels among you.
Your thoughts are always an inspiration to myself and others.
Michele
With Grinding Needs Everywhere... Why China?
Thursday, July 22, 2010
In speaking with different groups of people about a rising China, I noticed a bubbling up of anger and fear in many. These feelings seem to stem from multiple dimensions grounded in economic threat, past political distrust, and ideological oppression. So the question, “Why do you feel the need to go all the way to China to work with orphans when so many need help everywhere?” is a fair one.
This question, like the question of relevance I shared in the last post, had no firm answer. I simply did not know what was leading me to China. But I remember a line in the “Artist Way” that may shed some light, “Anger (and fear) can point the way, not just the finger.” Many times the things that make us feel most uncomfortable and uneasy are just the things we need to do. When we stretch, we grow.
I could never have dreamed how China was going to affect me. I have benefitted from the strength and wisdom of those with physical disabilities, and from the openness and love of those with int
ellectual disabilities my entire career. The individual interactions with the children and young adults at the Hengyang welfare center and orphanage were powerful because of the extent of need. But in working with ALS patients, I am no longer a stranger to this feeling of being a helpless caregiver against overwhelming reality.
What I experienced in China was a deeper understanding of the needs of humanity as a whole, and this was fascinating and humbling.
I now have a broader perspective of the concept of victim. I left China wondering, “Who is it that one prays for?” Is it the abandoned child, or the parent with no way out and no hope? Is it the person in the park with a hard heart who looks in disgust upon a child with disabilities? Is it the corrupt government officials at local levels, or is it the party leaders wrapped in and warped by a godless ideology? If you embrace an eternal perspective, all are victims who are separated from the truth, from the source of creation, from love. So who becomes the greater victim? Who finds themselves separated the most and suffering within the greatest darkness?
Our physical and intellectual capabilities and our illusion of strength and independence separate us from God. This, of course, is our greatest disability. One finds those strange utterances of Jes
us from the Mount long ago confusing and contrary to our earthly experience until one sees their own disability of heart and soul. My answer to the question, “Why go to China?” began to take form. “China is going to be an enormous part of our children’s future, and the state of China’s heart must be our concern.”
In every society the layers of victims are varied and many. Fear is the only constant. In some there is the fear of losing power, position, and control. In others there is the fear of not enough resource, opportunity, and security. In others still there is the fear of complete injustice and oppression. Differences, loss, disability, and death are the ultimate unknown of our human condition. Fear can lead to the exclusion of those facing these realities in any given society. When looked at this way, we realize we all are disabled.
Those with physical and intellectual disabilities continue to be rejected and excluded in many countries today, but we must not forget our own history. It was a short 17 years ago when my good friend, Sharon Gardner, sat at the kitchen table with visionary Justin Dart and from her wheelchair penned the lines that would lay the ground work of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Throughout most of the twentieth century American families also felt few options and resources when faced with the needs of a child with severe physical or intellectual disability. Our history of disability rights is a positive but young one.
We should be cautious not to take a self-righteous posture with nations at a different point on the
path. Our only concern should be a vision of justice, opportunity, and empowerment. This vision must be all that motivates us to move out in love, and not an egotistical control of the steps one should take to arrive there.
The only way out from underneath fear is hope. Hope in something greater.
I see the next generation of young people with me on this trip, and the next generation of Chinese college students visiting the orphanage with this hope. I see the work of ICC and the desire to educate and break down the barriers of superstition and fear in the Chinese community with this hope. All movement forward requires thrusting oneself off balance, extending our reach, and planting our next step some place new.
Wh
y is it imperative we include and empower the physically and intellectually disabled populations within all human societies? We need to because our spiritual evolution depends on it. These individuals we so quickly devalue have abilities we “temporarily” able-bodied and able-minded don’t have. They have the potential for strength and wisdom, a tenderness, openness, and fearless love that we simply do not recognize in our competitive and materialistic world. Those with physical and intellectual challenges may have disabilities we can see, but those with heart and soul challenges have disabilities that will eventually take down a family, a nation, a spiritually conscious species. Not until we become aware of our own brokenness and fear can we embrace the universality of the vulnerable heart. It is from here we will begin to see every human being as a valuable link in the chain of humanity.
When a society only places value on the physical and intellectual capacity of its members to give back to the whole, this society starves its heart and its soul. It remains incomplete.
I am moved by the last lines of the book, Becoming Human, by Jean Vanier.
“We are simply human beings, enfolded in weakness and in hope, called together to change our world one heart at a time.”
Thank you for joining me in my journey to China. I would love your final thoughts.
Michele
This question, like the question of relevance I shared in the last post, had no firm answer. I simply did not know what was leading me to China. But I remember a line in the “Artist Way” that may shed some light, “Anger (and fear) can point the way, not just the finger.” Many times the things that make us feel most uncomfortable and uneasy are just the things we need to do. When we stretch, we grow.
I could never have dreamed how China was going to affect me. I have benefitted from the strength and wisdom of those with physical disabilities, and from the openness and love of those with int
What I experienced in China was a deeper understanding of the needs of humanity as a whole, and this was fascinating and humbling.
I now have a broader perspective of the concept of victim. I left China wondering, “Who is it that one prays for?” Is it the abandoned child, or the parent with no way out and no hope? Is it the person in the park with a hard heart who looks in disgust upon a child with disabilities? Is it the corrupt government officials at local levels, or is it the party leaders wrapped in and warped by a godless ideology? If you embrace an eternal perspective, all are victims who are separated from the truth, from the source of creation, from love. So who becomes the greater victim? Who finds themselves separated the most and suffering within the greatest darkness?
Our physical and intellectual capabilities and our illusion of strength and independence separate us from God. This, of course, is our greatest disability. One finds those strange utterances of Jes
In every society the layers of victims are varied and many. Fear is the only constant. In some there is the fear of losing power, position, and control. In others there is the fear of not enough resource, opportunity, and security. In others still there is the fear of complete injustice and oppression. Differences, loss, disability, and death are the ultimate unknown of our human condition. Fear can lead to the exclusion of those facing these realities in any given society. When looked at this way, we realize we all are disabled.
Those with physical and intellectual disabilities continue to be rejected and excluded in many countries today, but we must not forget our own history. It was a short 17 years ago when my good friend, Sharon Gardner, sat at the kitchen table with visionary Justin Dart and from her wheelchair penned the lines that would lay the ground work of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Throughout most of the twentieth century American families also felt few options and resources when faced with the needs of a child with severe physical or intellectual disability. Our history of disability rights is a positive but young one.
We should be cautious not to take a self-righteous posture with nations at a different point on the
The only way out from underneath fear is hope. Hope in something greater.
I see the next generation of young people with me on this trip, and the next generation of Chinese college students visiting the orphanage with this hope. I see the work of ICC and the desire to educate and break down the barriers of superstition and fear in the Chinese community with this hope. All movement forward requires thrusting oneself off balance, extending our reach, and planting our next step some place new.
Wh
I am moved by the last lines of the book, Becoming Human, by Jean Vanier.
“We are simply human beings, enfolded in weakness and in hope, called together to change our world one heart at a time.”
Thank you for joining me in my journey to China. I would love your final thoughts.
Michele
The Greatest Fear - Our Own Irrelevance
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
In the last two entries I attempted to identify the multiple dimensions and illustrate the gravity of the problem facing the disabled and abandoned children of China. In this blog, I want to address another of those haunting questions which accompanied me on my journey.
During the decision making process, planning, and ultimate departure for a destination orphanage on the other side of the planet, I received this question repeatedly, “What lasting impact, what difference can you possibly make in just two weeks?” This inquiry, which was posed by friends, colleagues, and my family, defined the only true fear I had; my own irrelevance.
Of course I did not want to burden my husband, children, and patients with my absence if the whole trip was pointless. The fact is I had absolutely no answer to this nauseating question. I truly did not know what could be or would be accomplished. I simply felt led.
After spending some time getting to know our young team, I realized I was not the only one wrestling with this fear. Fortunately, the angels at ICC, the children and young adults at the orphanage, and the Chinese nationals gave us the greatest gift we could receive. They readily accepted every gift, expertise, talent, and extension of love we had to offer.
We immediately settled in to different areas of the welfare center and ICC run orphanage. Many, many gifts were given and received and lives changed on both sides.
That is just the beautiful way it works.
Personally, I had the opportunity to work closely with Alison and Galina, the two international ICC therapists, providing seating and positioning input for those with significant neuromuscular impairment. The little girls in the fifth flat had wonderfully stable wooden chairs but benefitted from some additional interventions to provide them more boundaries and support for their extremely low muscle tone.
These two photos of Da Da show a bit of what we were trying to accomplish.
Alison already had phenomenal connections with a Chinese gentleman in Hengyang who quickly created the seating components we requested. He constructed, padded, and covered thigh guides and lateral supports, and he made anti-gravity wooded wedges so the girl’s chairs could be rotated from a functional position upright to a rest position tilted about 40 degrees off gravity.
This photo of Ling Ling with her chair on the wedge shows her seated in a rest position, stable, and aligned. Now all she needs is a set of wheels.
This experience reminds me of a story I heard long ago about a little boy and a starfish. Walking alone one morning a little boy encounters hundreds of starfish washed up along the beach. Seeing each starfish suffering with a grinding need to breathe, the boy reaches down and begins to toss the starfish back into the water one by one.
Just then an older gentleman walks up beside him and asks, “What are you doing? There must be thousands of starfish along this beach. Each time the tide comes back in, hundreds more are deposited. What possible
difference can you make?”
The little boy looks at the old man, thinks for a moment, and reaches down tossing another starfish back into the sea.
“Well,” turning back to face the gentleman, “I made a difference to that one.”
There were a number of young boys in a different area of the orphanage with more positioning needs. We took the opportunity to use these little guys for an instructional session together with the PT students and the Chinese nationals training under ICC to be therapy techs.
We completed mat assessments and went over some ideas for interventions to address the different needs. Similar to the young therapy techs in the welfare center these Chinese nationals were intent and hungry for information, and the interaction with the doctorate level PT students from the U.S. was priceless. The entire experience was a poignant reminder that when we teach we can have exponential reach.
All in all I believe we positively touch lives. Many of which, we will never be aware.
Were we relevant?
Did we impact the problem in all the ways we would hope?
Are these questions ours to ask? Are these answers ours to judge?
The problem of relevance is inherent in the limitations of the term. This concept is static, and life is dynamic. Relevance is something we strive for, want to have, and wish to hold on to. But for us humans, trapped in space and time, the search for relevance is a search in the past. By the time something is judged as relevant it is gone. It is meaningless really. What is important is the reality of the moment. Are we living it, pouring into it, aware of it, being present for it?
My final thoughts are these, “Why didn’t Jesus simply wave his hand and heal the entire village?”
“Why doesn’t God swoop down and obliterate evil, suffering, and oppression with a bolt of lightning?”
I believe the answer is because this would place His relevance in the past.
Our Creator chooses a living relationship. She chooses to dynamically soften and change the hearts of individuals. He chooses one to one interaction, touch, and healing…
Throwing us back into the life giving water, one starfish at a time.
Our greatest fear may be our own irrelevance, but perfect love drives out all fear.
1 John 4:18
If you are interested in the Hand in Hand ICC child sponsorship program visit
www.chinaconcern.org
Thanks for the opportunity to share.
I would love your thoughts. Michele
During the decision making process, planning, and ultimate departure for a destination orphanage on the other side of the planet, I received this question repeatedly, “What lasting impact, what difference can you possibly make in just two weeks?” This inquiry, which was posed by friends, colleagues, and my family, defined the only true fear I had; my own irrelevance.
Of course I did not want to burden my husband, children, and patients with my absence if the whole trip was pointless. The fact is I had absolutely no answer to this nauseating question. I truly did not know what could be or would be accomplished. I simply felt led.
We immediately settled in to different areas of the welfare center and ICC run orphanage. Many, many gifts were given and received and lives changed on both sides.
Personally, I had the opportunity to work closely with Alison and Galina, the two international ICC therapists, providing seating and positioning input for those with significant neuromuscular impairment. The little girls in the fifth flat had wonderfully stable wooden chairs but benefitted from some additional interventions to provide them more boundaries and support for their extremely low muscle tone.
Alison already had phenomenal connections with a Chinese gentleman in Hengyang who quickly created the seating components we requested. He constructed, padded, and covered thigh guides and lateral supports, and he made anti-gravity wooded wedges so the girl’s chairs could be rotated from a functional position upright to a rest position tilted about 40 degrees off gravity.
This experience reminds me of a story I heard long ago about a little boy and a starfish. Walking alone one morning a little boy encounters hundreds of starfish washed up along the beach. Seeing each starfish suffering with a grinding need to breathe, the boy reaches down and begins to toss the starfish back into the water one by one.
Just then an older gentleman walks up beside him and asks, “What are you doing? There must be thousands of starfish along this beach. Each time the tide comes back in, hundreds more are deposited. What possible
“Well,” turning back to face the gentleman, “I made a difference to that one.”
There were a number of young boys in a different area of the orphanage with more positioning needs. We took the opportunity to use these little guys for an instructional session together with the PT students and the Chinese nationals training under ICC to be therapy techs.
All in all I believe we positively touch lives. Many of which, we will never be aware.
Were we relevant?
Did we impact the problem in all the ways we would hope?
Are these questions ours to ask? Are these answers ours to judge?
My final thoughts are these, “Why didn’t Jesus simply wave his hand and heal the entire village?”
“Why doesn’t God swoop down and obliterate evil, suffering, and oppression with a bolt of lightning?”
I believe the answer is because this would place His relevance in the past.
Our Creator chooses a living relationship. She chooses to dynamically soften and change the hearts of individuals. He chooses one to one interaction, touch, and healing…
Throwing us back into the life giving water, one starfish at a time.
Our greatest fear may be our own irrelevance, but perfect love drives out all fear.
1 John 4:18
If you are interested in the Hand in Hand ICC child sponsorship program visit
www.chinaconcern.org
Thanks for the opportunity to share.
I would love your thoughts. Michele