Tuesday, October 05, 2010

The Lord’s Prayer

My mind has been spinning in some very interesting directions since reading Autism Prophecies by William Stillman. He's also written Autism and the God Connection and The Soul of Autism. (I can't wait to read those.) I highlighted sections, took notes, and every time I recalled an event that I thought was wonderful and kind of spooky, I wrote it down in the back of the book. Suffice it to say, I believe this child is connected with God in a very deep, very real and possibly very tangible way.

Tonight gave me even more proof in my theory. After getting out of the shower, he gave me his usual wet hugs, and then said something that sounded like "Pray". So I said our usual goodnight prayer:

Father, we thank you for the night
and for the pleasant morning light,
for rest and food and loving care,
and all that makes the world so fair.
Help us to do the things we should:
to be to others kind and good,
in all we do, in all we say,
to grow more loving every day.

He finishes each phrase for me, and has even on occasions repeated entire phrases. Side note: one day, a few years back, one of his ABA therapists was particularly sad; her grandmother was very ill and dying in another state far away. She was doing her best to hold it together while working with him that day. When I picked him up, she reported to me that he was saying "Father, we thank you" and "grow more loving every day" repeatedly throughout the day.

Okay, how did he know to pray for her?

That's just one of the sort-of-spooky and wonderful moments I'm talking about.

Back to the Lord's Prayer: after saying our evening prayer, I thought that I should also start teaching him the Lord's Prayer that he hears every week at church. So I started to speak the words, and he looked at me, smiled broadly, and started jumping and dancing around! I've written before about this child being excited to pray, and here he is again, literally dancing with joy hearing the words Jesus taught us to pray.

I think William Stillman may be on to something. These children may be teaching US.