Life with Isaac Part 1

This is a series that I have been wanting to post for some time now. So here goes.

My son Isaac who just turned 4 years old is a miracle. He is the most amazing little boy in the whole world. He has taught me so much about what it means to be a father, a Christian, and a man of God. As many of you know, my son has had a long track record of medical difficulties. I won't go into too much detail so I will highlight some of the things:

Isaac has a chromosome deletion on the 6q end of the chromosome arm. What does that mean? That means that some of Isaac's DNA and genetic blueprint was missing when he was being formed in the womb. This resulted in some of the following issues:

Heart defect that led to open heart surgery at 6 months of age.
Macular scarring on the eyes, results are to be determined.
Dysmorphic features of the brain resulting in Epilepsy and mental and developmental delays
Microcephaly, Sensory Integration Dysfunction, Failure to Thrive, etc...

This does not define Isaac though. Isaac as I know him is a happy healthy boy who loves to play, get piggyback rides, cuddle, go to Sunday School, talk on the phone with anyone, pray, read his Bible story books, listen to Bob and Larry sing Fishers of Men over and over, give kissed and hugs, run, jump, go to McDonalds and eat a cheeseburger, swing on the swing, go down slides, climb on anything that will or will not hold him, sing, chase someone and get chased by someone, bounce and throw a ball, visit family, pretend, help out, cook, and so much more.

This world labels Isaac as handicapped. As I live and learn with Isaac, I am noticing that he is not as handicapped as what the world labels "normal." Isaac lives with absolutely no insecurities or fears or cares about anything other than being who God made him to be, and that is what we just defined above, the Isaac who loves to walk up to a stranger and say hi, the Isaac who will start to pray right in the middle of a conversation "Father we just come up to you...", the Isaac who will run into the middle of a dark room not caring about anything other than playing, the Isaac who will start to sing and dance in the middle of a room without caring who is watching.

David Crowder writes in his book, Praise Habit:
"We instinctively knew what it was to praise something It's always been in us. We were created for it. It;s a part of who we are...but as adults we become self-conscious and awkward. Something gets lost. I think we do it to each other... The moment I see a hill painted in greenest of grass, with long infinite blades waltzing in the wind, and make up my mind to sprint to the top, to give myself to gravity and let it roll me down, I hear, "Dork!" shouted from behind me somewhere and I stop. This is what we have done to one another."

I believe that I am more handicapped that my son. My insecurities stop me from being who God made me to be, from doing what God wants me to do, from praising how God wants me to praise. Isaac doesn't care about what others think of him, he just does what he does, he just is Isaac, without reservation. What if all of us could live life from that perspective? What if we loved, lived and laughed without a care of what others thought, just our Father in heaven? I am trying to learn from Isaac, and I have been making some slow progress. I hope that Isaac will have patience with me as I learn to let go of insecurity and live as he does.