A SILLY SONG FOR SEIBER

KEY VERSE:

“Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10b

ESSAY:

This is the first song I made up for my son, Parker. I started to sing it to him while my wife was still carrying him around in her belly. Before Parker was born, we learned he would have some health struggles, such as cerebral palsy and developmental delay. It seemed an especially appropriate song of encouragement to him once we learned of his special needs. Singing this chorus to him was my way of preparing him for life and letting him know that whatever his challenges were, I believed in him.

            As soon as we found out we were having a boy and chose his name I adapted the words to the church camp song, My God Is So Big. My version for Parker, sung to the same tune, goes like this:

My Son Is So Big:

My son is so big
So strong
and so mighty.
There's nothing my son cannot do.

My son is so big
So strong
and so mighty.
There's nothing my son cannot do.

Parker Drew!

Now at the age of 3, I still sing that song to him. But he always corrects me. He doesn't want me to sing the "My Son Is So Big" lyrics. He wants to hear the My God Is So Big version. He is a young boy who wants to honor God. That does my heart good.

APPLICATION:

Finding joy in the Lord is the source of our personal strength in this life. My son embodies this joy. Despite his enormous challenges -- autism, cerebral palsy, up to 50% brain malformation, brain cyst and developmental delay -- he lives joyously every day. This is evident in his love for God: he thrives on memorizing his Bible verses, he loves to hear and sing Christian music and there is arm flapping joy when he boards the bus for church every Sunday. Do you experience joy in the Lord as your source of strength in overcoming your challenges? If so, how do you show that finding joy in God is your source of strength? Do you find yourself singing God’s praises in the shower or the car? Are you spending time memorizing God’s word? Does your heart overflow with gladness at the thought of going to church? Maybe these are some things you can work on. Your application assignment is to memorize the key verse for this devotional, Nehemiah 8:10b, “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

This essay is from my book More Autism and Awesometism: Devotionals From and About a Special Needs Family.