Now That I Know You

For my friend whose son is autistic

Now That I Know You (Autism)

When we learned that you were autistic
And this problem had a name
Our lives became a bit different
And never would be the same.

This was not a discipline problem
Or something we could will away
This was the way life would be
This was to be our every day.

A bit of time has passed now
And we have learned so much from you
We never take for granted
Any accomplishment we see you do.

We have learned to disregard the stares
Of those who do not understand
And the remarks that strangers make
Who seem to think things are out of hand.

We have tried to learn to think a bit like you
And we try our best to get into your mind
We've learned how to be firm with you
And yet not seem to be unkind.

We have learned exactly what love must be
The kind of love that exists unconditionally
And not to judge people on how they look
And not trust everything you read in a book.

Not every one reacts the same to every trial
And God sends us a miracle in every child
No matter what the problem or disability
Each one is a breathing blessing for us to see.

I've loved that touch of a little hand
That asks for help in walking or to stand
And prayed that each glance upward of a little face
Would be an invitation to a cuddle or embrace.

I've learned that being excluded from a little one's thoughts
And feeling left out of his world can cause such pain
But with God's help we can keep on trying
And praise Him for every bit of progress that we gain.

If by some miracle you could leave the problem behind
And be completely whole without a hint of that disease
Oh what a blessing it would be
And how this miracle would please.

But it would be for you that I would welcome it with open arms
Not because of anything that I might have gone through
For even though my life has been different from this plight
Because of who you are, I've learned so much from you.

Thena