Boy With Autism – And God Remembered

Sometimes as we go through life, we may have a tendency to wonder from time to time if God is actually present in our lives.  Sure, we realize and recognize that He does exist and we know that He’s been in others’ lives from what they tell us they have experienced.  However, sometimes, those experiences that reveal the absolute truth to the existence of God can seem so few and far between for some of us.  This thought is true, or at least, was true to my friend Mary until this week.  Due to the surprising and unwinding sequence of events from this past week, Mary’s faith in God has increased exponentially!  And now she finally has a great story that she can tell and affirm in saying that she has experienced God and what He can do to remind her that He does remember her and that he loves not only her, but also her children.  Here is her story, per her permission for me to share.

Mary is a single mother of two:  Tristen, who is a 13 year old male and Adrianna, who is a 12 year old female.  For six years now, I have had the privilege of being good friends with Mary, who I consider to be one of the best, strongest and yet most compassionate single mothers I have ever met.  I only know through observation and through what I have been told, but I understand being a single mother is a tough but vastly rewarding job!  I’m sure if one were to ask Mary what it is like to be a single mother, she would probably tell you it is no walk in the park but that she has no regrets about it!  Her children take after their mother in being great people!  One thing I know that they have learned from their mother is to be as Christ-like as possible in their lives.  Mary’s children have had a blessed upbringing by being raised by a strong woman of God who has also taught her children the ways of the Lord.  However, I know that if one were to ask Mary about her life with God, she would tell you that she knows, without a benefit of the doubt, that He does exist but that she wonders from time to time just how near to her and her children He actually is.  Just this week, Mary was reminded that He is still very much present in her life and that He does remember and that He does provide!

Adrianna, Mary’s 12 year old daughter, is just reaching adolescence and from what her mother describes her, her personality and actions define her at a higher maturity level than what is compatible to her age.  She is much like her mother in being strong-willed and not allowing others to walk all over her, if the opportunity presents itself.  Tristen, Mary’s 13 year old son, is a kind-hearted boy whose personality is so uplifting, it is enough to brighten anybody’s day.  He is a delightful child and for a child like him, who has Autism, he functions extremely well!  He even gets excited sometimes over the things that bring delight to his heart and for someone with Autism, this is merely an impossibility.

For those of you who do not understand what Autism is, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental and Behavioral Disorders, Autism is:

“A total of six or more items from (1), (2), and (3), with at least two from (1), and one each from (2) and (3):

(1) qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following:

(a) marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction

(b) failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level

(c) a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people (example: by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest)

(d) lack of social or emotional reciprocity

(2) qualitative impairments in communication as manifested by at least one of the following:

(a) delay in, or total lack of, the development of spoken language (not accompanied by an attempt to compensate through alternative modes of communication such as gesture or mime)

(b) in individuals with adequate speech, marked impairment in ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others

(c) stereotyped and repetitive use of language or idiosyncratic language

(d) lack of varied, spontaneous make-believe play or social imitative play appropriate to developmental level

(3) restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities, as manifested by at least one of the following:

(a) encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus

(b) apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals

(c) stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (example:  hand or finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole-body movements)

(d) persistent preoccupation with parts of objects”

Tristen does not fulfill each of these criteria, but he fulfills the requirement of these to acquire the diagnosis of Autism.  Just because of the disorder Tristen has, does not make him any less of a human being.  In many ways, I consider him to be more human than the rest of us.  We make life so complicated and tough sometimes.  If there is one thing I have learned from Tristen, it is to take life with the wonderment and delight as he does.  It is because of the lesson I learned from him, each time I see him I get a huge smile on my face and am very happy to see him!

Anyway, enough background information.  The story continues with this culminating event.  This past Tuesday, I got a call from Mary informing me her, Tristen, and Adrianna were going to be on the news!  The local news station I regularly watch was going to Mary’s place to interview her and her children concerning the matter that Tristen’s trike was stolen from their apartment last Saturday night.  First of all, I felt horrible knowing that someone took a form of exercise and recreation away from Tristen, who absolutely just loves his trike!  I also felt horrible for Mary, who told me she would be unable to afford another trike for Tristen.  On the opposite, I was very excited for Mary to share this story with our community in huge hopes that someone would find the trike and return it.  That night, on the 10:00 news, I saw the story and it was well done!  Mary was nervous of appearing on camera, but she looked calm, cool, and collected and stated her case of just wanting Tristen’s trike back.  About 20 minutes after the story aired, I got a call from Mary sharing with me some excellent news!  She said that a man that works at one of the local car dealerships called the news station and told the reporter who did the story that he would like to buy Tristen a new trike!  Mary was so excited when she called to tell me, it made me excited!  She had been saying that God is so good and that she had experienced a reminder from God that He still provides and wants the best for His children!  This was an awesome ending, I thought, to a story that had such a sad beginning.  Little did all of us know at that time that God had so much more to reveal.

The next morning, Mary got a call from a neighbor who said she had found Tristen’s bike underneath her front window and that she just could not believe she had found it!  Mary shared with me that earlier her neighbor had doubt that any good would come about from this event and Mary expressed to her that she believed that God was still going to provide, she just did not know how.  Well, when her neighbor brought over Tristen’s trike, Mary mentioned her neighbor was still in shock how things had transpired.  Just a few miles away from Mary, at about the same time of day, the gentleman that works at the car dealership who was going to buy Tristen a new trike had been receiving calls all morning long from anonymous people who were offering to contribute money to help buy Tristen a new trike.  As far as I had known, Brian, which is the gentleman’s name, was not even shared or mentioned on the news as to saying that he was willing to buy Tristen a new trike.  Surely, I understand that the news station kept receiving calls from anonymous donors who were wanting to help buy Tristen a new trike and the news station then gave these would-be donors Brian’s information to give him a call.  Brian then received a call from Mary saying her neighbor found Tristen’s trike but the bar that held the seat was cut through to release it from the lock it was chained to.  Brian then mentioned that he would still pay for the charge to help fix the trike.  They sent the trike to the nearest bike repair shop to get it fixed.  The link to the story at the top of this post is the news story about Tristen getting his trike back.  You are more than welcome to watch it!  This, too, was a great news piece.

In the meantime, Mary received a $150 Wal-Mart gift card from someone and on the back, this person wrote Genesis 8:1 on it.  Mary told me she looked up the verse and it said:  “But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.”  The first three words to this passage are what stuck out the most to Mary:  “But God remembered.”  Mary was floored!  If I can recall correctly, Mary mentioned to me she was moved to tears and she was thanking God for not only giving Tristen’s trike back to them but for also the many other gifts they have been receiving in addition to!  Ever since receiving that gift card and from the remaining events of the week, Mary’s faith in God was not restored.  It had been there all along.  But, what had happened was that she was reminded of just how much not only does God care and love for them, but that He knows of every detail of their lives and that He is and always will be there, right by her side to help her out!  This week’s events also reminds me of this verse:  “Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”(Deuteronomy 31:6, NIV).  Throughout this past week, Mary was completely strong and courageous by initiating the first steps to finding Tristen’s trike.  Because Mary is one of God’s children and that her children are God’s children and that God is our Heavenly Father who looks to bless and provide for His children, God allowed for what could have been an impossibility of Mary getting Tristen’s trike back to actually become reality with even more gifts than anyone else would ever expect!

In closing, Brian was still taking donations from others to help pay for what he first thought would be Tristen’s new trike.  However, instead of giving that money back to those who offered it, he decided to still put it to good use to find others with disabilities who were in need of a trike, to give to them.  Him and Mary then decided to organize a charitable group that Mary fittingly named Tristen’s Trikes.  Since that point in time, they have been advertising on television newscasts and radio shows about Tristen’s Trikes, that the car dealership that Brian works for and the bike shop that fixed Tristen’s Trike would collect the money and they would then give this money to two organizations in town that would then buy the trikes to give to the disabled individuals that are in need of those trikes.  With how this week’s events have transpired, I have also been reminded that for those that follow God and have a desire to bring good to His children, blessing others when they themselves have been blessed that they are then provided the opportunity to be “re-blessed” because of the blessing they have been to others.  Tying into this thought, the passage of 2nd Corinthians 9:6-11 comes to mind.  Now I do understand that this passage of scripture has to deal with providing tithes and offerings to our Lord, but it is also entitled Sowing Generously.  This concept is so true!

For those of you who feel lead to possibly give to the charitable organization of Tristen’s Trikes, here is the website you can go to get the contact information on where you can send your monetary donation:   http://tristenstrikes.blogspot.com/.

In closing, I hope you have been encouraged by this incredibly awesome story of faith and blessing!  May you be blessed exponentially next time you give to bless others or when you give to bless our LORD.  Until next time, be encouraged!

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Last 5 posts by TriCounselor

• Fear vs. Faith Part 2: Fear driven by anxiety, worry, and tension - September 13th, 2009
• Fear vs. Faith Part 1: Anger driven by fear - August 23rd, 2009
• "Identity in Christ" - July 26th, 2009
• "Purify My Heart" - July 9th, 2009