We have two neighbors.
They are two young men with a Jack Russell Terrier, who have been living in our neighborhood for about 2 years.
'Pogo' their 10 lb. terrier came into their lives about a year ago, from the local animal shelter. Happy little Pogo has discovered her friend "Benji,...'our 'gets along with everyone' 45 lb. Beagle Terrier.
After being abandoned in our neighborhood, we found him wandering in the middle of about 12 lanes of traffic on a warm summer night, about two years ago.
These two get along like old chums. There is a lot of running jumping, chasing, nipping, snarling, tugging and playing.
The dogs brought us all together, but a special and unique friendship is growing out of our daily visits.
The most interesting part of our friendship is that Nick and Andrew are considered by society as 'special needs'.
Needless to say, that is an apt description in many ways. Sometimes they are hard to understand and they thrive on routine. It is hard to answer all of their questions, because we reason differently. Their questions about life are often repeated and we answer the same questions in different ways.
One day someone said to me, 'I feel so bad for them'....and all I could think,
was that, I really 'didn't' feel bad,...at all....I wondered how it was that I came to feel this way.
I knew almost immediately,
It was because I see Nick and Andrew through a different set of lenses.
I see them as special friends, with an ability to live life innocently.
They may get frustrated, but they don't hold grudges.
They find joy in the smallest things and love to to tell stories.
They look forward to singing with their friends and laughing at the words I make up.
They love little animals and say the funniest things.
And they are honest.
One morning they stopped by as we were about to get ready for church. The dogs played for awhile, and I finally said, 'well boys, I better get ready for church...if I go like this, I might scare someone'..Nick looked at me and simply said 'you sure will'.!!..(I still laugh just thinking about it)
I'm glad I don't feel bad for them, because they have a precious way of living in the moment.
In fact, after I thought about it awhile, I knew the biggest reason I see them this way, is exactly that...
It is "the way... I see...them".
Because of the joy they bring every day, I stopped seeing them as special needs
and began to see them as special gifts.
For they have given us more than they will ever need..from anyone.
In this world of politically correctness, I think it would be nice to recognize our gifts first and call Nick and Andrew who they really are. "Nick and Andrew" (who just so happen,..to be our special gifts).
"A cheerful heart is good medicine"..Proverbs 17:22a
They are two young men with a Jack Russell Terrier, who have been living in our neighborhood for about 2 years.
'Pogo' their 10 lb. terrier came into their lives about a year ago, from the local animal shelter. Happy little Pogo has discovered her friend "Benji,...'our 'gets along with everyone' 45 lb. Beagle Terrier.
After being abandoned in our neighborhood, we found him wandering in the middle of about 12 lanes of traffic on a warm summer night, about two years ago.
These two get along like old chums. There is a lot of running jumping, chasing, nipping, snarling, tugging and playing.
The dogs brought us all together, but a special and unique friendship is growing out of our daily visits.
The most interesting part of our friendship is that Nick and Andrew are considered by society as 'special needs'.
Needless to say, that is an apt description in many ways. Sometimes they are hard to understand and they thrive on routine. It is hard to answer all of their questions, because we reason differently. Their questions about life are often repeated and we answer the same questions in different ways.
One day someone said to me, 'I feel so bad for them'....and all I could think,
was that, I really 'didn't' feel bad,...at all....I wondered how it was that I came to feel this way.
I knew almost immediately,
It was because I see Nick and Andrew through a different set of lenses.
I see them as special friends, with an ability to live life innocently.
They may get frustrated, but they don't hold grudges.
They find joy in the smallest things and love to to tell stories.
They look forward to singing with their friends and laughing at the words I make up.
They love little animals and say the funniest things.
And they are honest.
One morning they stopped by as we were about to get ready for church. The dogs played for awhile, and I finally said, 'well boys, I better get ready for church...if I go like this, I might scare someone'..Nick looked at me and simply said 'you sure will'.!!..(I still laugh just thinking about it)
I'm glad I don't feel bad for them, because they have a precious way of living in the moment.
In fact, after I thought about it awhile, I knew the biggest reason I see them this way, is exactly that...
It is "the way... I see...them".
Because of the joy they bring every day, I stopped seeing them as special needs
and began to see them as special gifts.
For they have given us more than they will ever need..from anyone.
In this world of politically correctness, I think it would be nice to recognize our gifts first and call Nick and Andrew who they really are. "Nick and Andrew" (who just so happen,..to be our special gifts).
"A cheerful heart is good medicine"..Proverbs 17:22a
Amen, beautifully said.
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