Thank you Jersey. I’ve read you post now several times and, it clearly all makes sense. I guess I hear these things all the time — I read them — but during particularly tough times, I need to hear them reworded or presented in a new way. Your post did that.
My daughter has such a caring heart, but it’s her awkward responses to things that prohibit others from getting to know her deepest cares. They didn’t see her two nights ago, sobbing in bed because something made her think about a woman she’d seen months ago in New Orleans. The woman was sitting alongside a building, hunched over atop a grate, with newspapers covering her to stay warm. My daughter wanted to know if that woman was ever given food to eat. The conversation shifted to a discussion about the importance of serving others who clearly need our help. We talked about participating as volunteers (which her older sister and I regularly do). That made her feel good to know that she could help.
But it’s things like this which my daughter’s peers don’t see, and right now, the world misses out on.
Your daughter is such a beautiful gift and blessing with a tremendous heart. How did we get so lucky? That is why I think it is not a disadvantage its a gift. The disadvantaged are those who don’t hold compassion or understand our daughters. My daughter will break down in church during hymns uncontrollably until I finally have to take her outside. I understand that the music stirs her emotions of sympathy and compassion for others that she may have seen during that week. Some in Church would look as though she was a “problem” child. Little did they know she is a “gifted” child. The compassion held inside our daughters and others with Autism is not known to this world. I truly believe they are on a different spiritual level then the rest of us. Yes we feel sympathy for others but not the same as they do.
Don’t care about your daughter’s peers, they are not worth the time or emotion if they don’t understand her gift. God gave your daughter something no peer could ever measure up to, that is YOU. She is being guided by your unconditional and endless love to the journey that God has prepared. The beautiful story that you just told and how well and admirably you responded to your daughter’s concerns, demonstrates this. By your suggestion of helping, the world won’t miss out, you and your daughter are making it a better place.