Designed to be Different

Recently Yvonne's Mom, Dad, (sister) Joy and her friend, Lisa came for a visit. We don't get to see Joy very often, so it was nice of my parents to schedule us into their vacation plans, when they decided to bring her up to Grande Cache.
A one day planned visit turned out to be 3 days. Dinner with my brother's family and plenty of time to just visit together.
Joy has Autism,(left) and her friend has Down Syndrome so it was a bit of a learning experience for my kids. They know that not all adults have the same abilities but I was very proud of how they did on this visit. They treated the ladies as adults in the proper ways and played with them as "kids" at the appropriate times. Everyone got along great and we had a really nice visit.
I am always reminded that we need to expose our kids to many people so they will see the great variety and strengths of the ways God has created us different. In a world where we're supposed to act as if everyone is the same. In a culture and time when we are supposed to nullify our differences, we've chosen to celebrate them. Isn't that what the Bible teaches us? To raise up in the presence of the elderly, because they are elderly.. the difference is what gives them the honor. To honor women for women and men for the special role God gives them. Children to obey parents. Don't curse the Deaf, and don't put stumbling blocks before the Blind. To care for widows and orphans... it's the differences that marks the special respect and care that we are to up hold. I'm hoping we're affecting the kids in this direction, against the grain of mainstream.