Can you keep a secret?

Jan. 2, 2011

Shhh! Don’t tell Nathan it’s 2011. We decided that if he didn’t realize that it wasn’t 2010 anymore, he’d keep working as hard as he did last year. Once we looked back and saw how far we’ve come in the past 12 months we have so much hope for what the future brings.

Matthew 15:30-31 talks about bringing those with physical needs to Jesus: “…They laid them before Jesus, and He healed them all. The crowd was amazed! Those who hadn’t been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were walking, and the blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel.”

Back in January, when we travelled back and forth for intensive therapy, we had seen the spark of Nathan’s ability to move a Kaye Walker with his arms and torso strapped in. At the time he didn’t have the strength or desire to move his heavier, Rifton walker. Six months later, he’d be walking the whole way around the block.

In Spring 2010, we were introduced to a computerized communication device (ECO2). The first time Nathan used it he used an attachment that followed his eye gaze. It was amazing how he could follow the images on the screen, but he still wasn’t making statements on his own, just looking at the one image moving around. Since then, he’s been working on using a wand to help him make selections, playing songs, participating at school (Teacher Beth told us he was getting 80% of his colors right), and communicating a lot more than before.

Over the last 12 months, we witnessed the lame walk and the mute talk. Nathan has never dealt with blindness, but it is I who learned to how see God’s blessings showering down. They enhance his life and bringing joy to us and others.

In 2011, some people will turn 29 or 39 for the sixth, seventh or eleventh time. If they can deny the passage of time, so will we. We still have a long way to go in the communication department, and we’re still working on the steering aspect of walking, but it’s easy to see why we didn’t want 2010 to end.

What is life without goals and tasks to accomplish? Some make resolutions on how to make a successful year ahead. We ask, why limit how far we can go or what Nathan can accomplish. Just like his walking, Nathan only knows one direction...straight ahead, normally at full speed. We pray for God’s continued grace, and look forward see what new roads he’ll be able to travel in the weeks and months to come.

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