SLOW DOWN SEIBERS

In honor of Autism Awareness Month, I am posting a devotional from my book about my son, Parker's Story: Essays on Autism and Awesometism.

KEY VERSE:

 

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, Psalm 23:2

ESSAY:

            When Parker was in first grade he fell and broke his leg. It was a rare rainy day in drought-stricken California. Parker let our dog, named Ro-Ro, out the back door to go potty and he asked if he could stand by the door and watch the dog and the rain. I said sure, not thinking anything of it. As he watched our dog the rain splashed from the outside on to our laminate kitchen floor. After Ro-Ro came back inside, Parker shut the back door and ran to catch up with the dog. He slipped on the rain splatted laminate floor and fell directly on his right leg. SNAP!  For four months he was in a cast and the doctor said it was a spiral fracture and he absolutely could not walk on it or put weight on it. So he was immobile for four whole months. As an autistic child who regularly processes his thoughts and emotions with movement, whether that be running around the house or flapping his arms or jumping up and down for the physical sensation, he was unable to do that for four entire months. Instead he was stuck on the couch or in a borrowed wheelchair. It was such a difficult time for him and for us.

            The verse that came to mind during that time was the reference in the 23^rd Psalm where it says, “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” God makes me. God is making the decision. God is making Parker lie down and rest. It is His choice. Now, that doesn’t make it any easier. It still is very difficult, very frustrating, and very worrisome. But “He makes me” reminds me that God is in control. He knows what He is doing, even when we do not.

            God didn’t just make Parker lie down and rest. He made my wife and I rest, too. Because Parker could not walk his school district would not let him return to school. They said they did not have anyone trained to lift him from his wheelchair to his desk or the toilet or wherever. So for the entire time his leg was broken my wife and I had to stay home from work with him. My wife went on family leave and spent the majority of the time with him. When her leave ran out and she had to return to work, it became my turn. We were forced to lay down and rest with Parker. Our priorities had to change to take care of our son. Slowing down and not working was far from ideal. For one reason, without my wife’s regular salary while she was on leave, we definitely took a hit financially. One good thing that came out of this time of forced rest, though, is I had time to write my first novel, The Homeless Informant.

            I was sharing this story with a couple of coworkers recently who have also had medical crises that involved forced rest. As they wondered why this was happening to them, I remembered our experience with Parker and shared Psalm 23:2 with them. It was a helpful reminder to them that God knew what was happening and He was in charge of their rest.

APPLICATION:

            Has there been a time in your life when God has forced you to rest? Did you experience the frustration that Parker did? What did you learn about your self during that process? I learned that I loved to write and started a new passion of authoring books (like this one). If you have not had a forced rest yet in your life, it may be coming. When it does, just know that God is in control and perhaps He wants to teach you something about Himself or yourself in the process.