I remember a guest speaker at Harding one time, some kind of enterprising business leader, who talked about how he arranged his life to be a better Dad. He worked extra hard 4 days out of the week so he could have 3 day weekends with his family. His son was born with some kind of devastating condition, or so the doctors said, but daily he kept praying, massaging the baby's limbs and telling him reassuring words about his wondrous abilities and as the boy grew, he overcame the diagnoses. I've never forgotten that story.

More than anything, a child must know they are loved and cherished. I don't pretend that Logan's autism will magically go away, but I am sure he'll do better if he knows that he's wonderfully made. Yes, he is neurally and behaviorally atypical right now, but God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. There are more important things than being faster, better, stronger, more graceful, or more clever (though we should all do our personal bests) and daily I'm reminded of that. There's a place and a purpose for everyone under heaven, and Logan was put here to bring glory to God. I know our Lord delights in him, and I do too!

Isaac Regained

Around noon, we had a scare when a bee stung Logan's lower back from inside his Avengers undies. Three years ago, he broke out in hives from 3 wasp stings, but that reaction never developed today, thank goodness (I'm surprised we haven't had more stings, as our place is lousy with bees this summer!). He did great with training, except for 1 big accident when I was preoccupied with fixing screens in the shed. Tonight he even knocked on his door after bedtime to let us know he needed to come out and potty; he kept his pull-up dry! On his Big Wheel, we got up to about 8 minutes of me pushing him, and his toes kept a vice-like grip on the modified pedals (wood blocks taped on so he can reach); it's another interactive thing for us, since I won't push until he complies with my mand of "feet up." He and Audrey love riding the tire swing in tandem, but I got strong eye contact alone with him on it, and he started saying "ready" along with me when I'm saying, "Ready? Go!" as I release the tire. All the time I've been able to spend with Logan this summer makes me feel I'm catching up on those missing years when our little boy was lost to us; there was just a whole phase of his toddler years when he seemed unaware that we existed. Now he takes me by the hand and leads me to the pool so we can have horseplay, or he climbs up, wraps his arms around me and pats my back. I wonder if this is how Abraham felt when God gave him back his only son?