Hi, this is Joni Eareckson Tada and welcome to “Joni and Friends.”
Not long ago I was up in northern California to help recruit volunteers for our next Family Retreat. I spoke at a church on Sunday afternoon. I was really grateful for the many people who turned out for this special meeting. And, thank the Lord, we were successful in recruiting a lot of the young people to come and serve this summer at our camp. After the meeting was over, I stayed around to talk to people, and I noticed a man come in the back of the church with a girl—she was obviously disabled. He took a seat halfway up the back of the church and she slumped down in the seat next to him. As I was talking to people, I could hear loud shrieking—I mean, this wasn’t just anyone calling out or just yelling loud, these were ear-splitting screams. I glanced up, and the noise was coming from that girl with the disability. I finished up my conversations as quickly as I could, because I wanted to go meet the man with this disabled young woman. All the while, as I was finishing up my conversations, there she would be shrieking and making those ear-splitting screams.
I wheeled up the back to greet the man and this disabled girl and I learned that this friendly looking guy with the big smile was this girl's father and the girl with the disabilities—her name was Sammi and she had autism. Sammi did not look agitated or restless; maybe she occasionally squirmed, but still, just when it appeared all things were calm, she’d throw back her head and let out another loud shriek. This girl, Sammi, obviously had severe autistic problems and her dad explained that although she was non-verbal, she knew sign language—in fact, Sammi was able to communicate in sign. We talked with the dad for a while and I noticed, that as we did, Sammi seemed to be intently listening, but then—out of nowhere—even though she had this placid, calm look on her face, she would suddenly shriek again, as if it were uncontrollable.
Her father went on to tell me what a lifesaver our Family Retreat had been for him and his daughter, Sammi. Immediately, I thought of what had happened that week over in Sunnyvale, California, just a couple of miles from that very church. It was a story that made headline news: a stressed-out, overburdened mother had shot her 22-year-old son with autism while he lay in bed, and then, she turned the gun on herself. Her husband came home two hours later to find his wife and son dead. It had sent repercussions through the whole community. I thought of this incident, I looked at this single dad and his daughter with autism. I looked at Sammi and nearly cried with just such gratitude to God for Family Retreats. This father was pretty stressed out, too, but unlike that mother in Sunnyvale, he had a church that cared, and he had Family Retreats to look forward to.
I tell you all this so that you would please pray for our season of Family Retreats that’s beginning. We’ll be serving thousands of families this summer—families just like Sammi’s. Oh, and if you want to see what goes on at retreat, or if you’d like to volunteer with us, please visit my radio page today at joniandfriends.org because we posted a really fun video that’ll show you what it’s all about. And finally, I want you to know that when I said goodbye to Sammi, this young woman, this teenager with her severe disability, she got this look of recognition in her eyes and she waved goodbye to me a sweet little wave. A spark of recognition in her eyes and a little gesture from her hand … thank the Lord for our Family Retreats.
© Joni and Friends
Used by permission of Joni and Friends
P.O. Box 3333, Agoura Hills, CA 91376