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AUTISM: WHEN WORDS AREN’T ENOUGH

October 8, 2015 By Mikki Jo 22 Comments

He reaches for my hand and leads me to the kitchen. He pushes my hand toward the cabinet where I keep the peanut butter. He loves peanut butter. I make him a sandwich, he takes it and runs off. My grandson Aiden, oh how I love him.

Aiden playing

Words.

My thoughts drift back here where I spend a lot of time with words. I pray for God to share His words with me so I can share His heart with you. I want to grow in Christ. I want us to walk so close with Him we can hear His heartbeat.

I’ve read so many blogs the past few days about writing, about the importance of words.

Words speak to the heart, words connect people.

painting-typography-gift-paint (2)

Words.

Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. This is my daily personal prayer. Every. Single. Day. I pray this scripture over the words of my mouth.

Words are powerful. They can bring encouragement, or they can injure someone’s soul.

I pray daily for myself, to be able to write words. Words that will bring glory to God and words that will inspire us all to desire a closer walk with Jesus.

I pray daily for my grandson Aiden, to be able to speak words. Words that will tell us what he needs and words that will tell us what he’s thinking. He has nonverbal autism.

My words weave stories of my life. Aiden’s inability to speak words weaves a quietness in my heart. I’ve always said, Aiden speaks with his heart. Just because he doesn’t talk does not mean he has nothing to say.

red-love-heart-old (3)

I still question God sometimes and ask Him to show me what His purpose is. When I seek God for Aiden, at times I just feel stuck and I don’t know how to pray. ย I struggle in my heart with this. I give it all to Him and know He is faithful. Do you feel stuck friend, do you struggle with the “how” of your prayer? We can seek God to show us His purpose, to align our will with His, and rest in His promise that ALL things work together for good.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.

God is bigger than our circumstances. When our status changes from good to bad or bad to worse, He remains our rock. He remains unchanging. He is still our deliverer, our healer, our savior. Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.

Today Aiden is happy and healthy. He looks at me out of the corner of his eye and giggles. He puts his arms around me and kisses me, I am blessed. There are times when even words can’t express what we want to say, so my sweet Aiden speaks with his heart.

Aiden smiling

 

HE SPEAKS WITH HIS HEART

dark-leaves-raindrops-rose

He stops to smell the flowers

he’s never seen a gloomy day

He celebrates a cloudy sky

and dances in the rain

 

He doesn’t see your faults

or laugh at your mistakes

He speaks with his heart

and listens just the same

Aidenphoto

He keeps no account of wrongs

or forces his opinion

He sees us through eyes

with the purest of vision

 

What a beautiful soul

we could all possess

If we would learn from him

and simply seek to bless

Aiden dancing

I think he speaks to Jesus

and dances at His feet

He hears Him when He says

come and dance for me

Signature

Filed Under: Devotionals Tagged With: Autism, autistic, faithful, healing, jesus, nonverbal, words

Comments

  1. Clare Speer says

    October 8, 2015 at 4:06 pm

    Such heartfelt and beautiful words about your grandson Aiden! What a blessing!

    Reply
    • Mikki Jo says

      October 8, 2015 at 10:56 pm

      He is indeed a blessing and thanks for your kind words! Thanks for stopping in to visit!

      Reply
  2. Della Phillips says

    October 8, 2015 at 5:57 pm

    Beautiful!

    Reply
    • Mikki Jo says

      October 8, 2015 at 10:55 pm

      Thank you Della!

      Reply
  3. andi says

    October 8, 2015 at 7:41 pm

    God can take anything – even autism (I’m on the Spectrum) and make it beautiful ๐Ÿ˜€

    Reply
    • Mikki Jo says

      October 8, 2015 at 9:04 pm

      You are right!

      Reply
  4. Jae Marie says

    October 8, 2015 at 8:09 pm

    Your words spoke to my soul. You also have a very beautiful grandson and from what I read in this post you have a beautiful heart.
    It is amazing that you have God in your life. So many people need to know where the kind of strength you have comes from and it truly can only come from one place and that is Jesus.
    Thank you for sharing this with us.

    Reply
    • Mikki Jo says

      October 8, 2015 at 10:53 pm

      Thanks Jae Marie for such kind words. Aiden is so precious to our family. Only the Lord can bring the peace and strength we need. Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply
  5. Stephanie Rose says

    October 8, 2015 at 8:44 pm

    My Mini is on the spectrum. I’m blessed that she is verbal but she has a hard time finding her words. This post is simply beautiful!

    Reply
    • Mikki Jo says

      October 8, 2015 at 10:51 pm

      Thank you Stephanie! God bless you!

      Reply
  6. Teresa says

    October 9, 2015 at 10:54 am

    Keep talking and teaching and loving that sweet boy! He’s learning and listening and if he’s anything like my son Nate, who is the youngest of my biological 7 children, born with a rare chromosome deletion (1 in 40,000, called Chromosome 18q-, 21.3qter, DE novo), all the while he’s waiting to speak! We were assured and reassured if Nate didn’t talk before 5 yrs old he never would. God is good! Nate began speaking that others outside our family and circle if friends can understand more than half of what Nate says, in full sentences, beginning at age 9!! Its coming! Keep loving him and he will continue to communicate his love and trust in you everyday… I’m praying one day the words from his mouth will come! Keep the tissues ready! From personal experience I can say this as one of the clearest first phrases Nate said to me was “Momma, I love you!”

    Reply
    • Mikki Jo says

      October 9, 2015 at 12:43 pm

      What a beautiful testimony! Praise God for what He has done with your son! We were told the same thing but I trust that God will have HIS way in this situation. I trust Him. Thanks so much for sharing your story with me!

      Reply
  7. Kristi says

    October 10, 2015 at 6:24 pm

    What an absolutely beautifully expressed post. Words can’t always communicate what the heart can! He is such a handsome boy and I feel your pride and love through your words.

    Reply
    • Mikki Jo says

      October 11, 2015 at 8:34 pm

      Thank you! He is so precious to our family. My daughter is such an amazing Momma to him and her other 2 boys! We are blessed!

      Reply
      • Tiffanie says

        March 10, 2016 at 3:33 pm

        AMEN! SHE IS SOMEONE I LOOK UP TO AS A SINGLE MOTHER AND MY OLDEST IS 18. I’ve been a single mother for a year and still look to her for encouragement. She keeps me going at times and pushes me when I need it. We may not always see eye to eye but I love your girl and HER boys with all of my heart! The year so much to me โ™กโ™กโ™ก

        Reply
        • Mikki Jo says

          March 10, 2016 at 4:31 pm

          Thanks sweetie! We love you too!

          Reply
  8. andi says

    December 11, 2015 at 8:42 pm

    your words nailed it for all of us who are on the autism spectrum (I’m an Aspie ๐Ÿ˜€ )

    Reply
    • Mikki Jo says

      December 13, 2015 at 1:06 am

      Thank you Andi! You are awesome!

      Reply
  9. Florence A Ukpabi says

    December 15, 2015 at 3:10 pm

    Oh wow, you’re grandson is so delightful, you can see everything in his eyes. Funnily enough my verse of the day was about the power of our words, with the same mouth we bless God and curse man made in His image. I found your simple morning prayer ritual so beautiful and telling so much about you as a person. Thank you for sharing this glimpse of purity with us xxx

    Reply
  10. Alonda says

    December 16, 2015 at 12:43 pm

    This is such a beautiful story and is so close to my heart. I know so many kids who are considered to be on the autism spectrum. I have worked closely with many. Their strength is that they speak so openly with their heart while the rest of the world shys back.

    This is a beautiful post.

    Reply
    • Mikki Jo says

      December 18, 2015 at 11:16 am

      Thank you, Aiden is so precious.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. GUARD MY FINGERS TOO LORD - Simply Gathering Grace says:
    October 9, 2015 at 4:38 pm

    […] spoke yesterday about WORDS. How words can bring encouragement, and how words can injure the […]

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