dawn

“Have you ever given orders to the morning or shown the dawn its place?”  Job 38:12 NIV

I have written about IEP meetings before, but just in case you are not familiar with them, IEP stands for Individualized Education Plan.  A lot of students have them.  Some are used for specific subjects or topics, while others cover pretty much every area pertaining to a student.  For our son, it covers everything from the time he gets up in the morning until he goes to sleep at night. 

During these meetings gifted educators break down any area of need into goals and strategies.  Then they try to reach those goals and report on their progress.  Once reached, new goals follow.  The process never stops.  You can look back on them and find everything from failure to minute progress to straight up transformation, all in the same meeting.  They are a necessary part of helping a student move forward but they can be frustrating if progress seems non-existent. 

What we have learned over the years is that these meetings have an unintended but understandable way of measuring the teacher, not the student.  Such is the case this past week. 

Keep in mind that our son can at times be the most interesting human I have ever known.  He is a unique creation.  I do not believe there is one accidental thing about him.  God had a design in mind.  I can also say, however, that he can be the single most frustrating human God ever designed.  I mean deep inside your heart frustrating.

That has as much to do with having a heart to work with him as it does with him.  We have had a literal parade of people I could not hand pick any better if I tried.  If God lined up every Special Education teacher on the planet and let us choose, we would pick who we have had from Lindy to Dawn and literally all of them in between, in perfect order.  Each one has paved the way for the next.  Each one has loved our son more than their job required.  I think each one has felt like they did not do enough.  On that topic they would all be wrong. 

My wife and I have always talked about the desire to have people see him as we do.  Physically he is tall and lean standing about 6’2” and weighing in at 150 or so.  He is going bald and has a 5 o’clock shadow most of the time.  He looks like an adult, but he does not always act like one.  At times it takes a very special lens to see the special in him.

We share posts from the WeKan Academy in Hays which has to be one of the best uses of educational funding I have ever heard of.  I mean they do some incredible things.  He made spicy pretzels today.  What?  I saw pictures.  He ate asparagus last week.  I saw the video.  He looked like he thought he was going to die, but he ate it.  This year, in particular, they expect things from him that we do not see as possible.  Then they spill their guts all over the floor trying to help him get there. 

The problem with spilling your guts is that it hurts.  Are you willing to hurt for someone else’s son?

We have learned one unmistakable thing.  His teachers don’t always see what we see in him.  Sometimes they see him even better than we do. 

Challenge:  Enjoying the dawns in your life one at a time.  The creator gives you a new dawn every day, each one its own unique opportunity to learn and grow and live, some end well, some do not.  Once in a while God gives you a Dawn so tailor made for your son your only response is to thank Him for her.

Mary and Rick Claiborn