Patrick is a burning ball of energy and is driven by his curiuosity to know and his desire to be independent. He is one stubborn boy. His stubbornness almost exceeds mine and that is saying a lot! I guess this is what you get when two stubborn people have a child together. He tries so hard to do everything on his one. I have encouraged him to be curious by not allowing him to watch TV/movies until he was well over 2 years old, and allowed him to solve things on his own without swooping in to show him how it is done.
However, my son struggles with speech. He has for some time now. I have worried about him for well over a year now because despite all my efforts (for example, reading to him for over 20 minutes a day, talking to him, explaining what I do,and doing various preschool activities) he still doesn't speak a lot. Part of his problem is a lack of desire to speak. This reason why I say this because he speaks when he wants to, and I will often catch him speaking and he will stop when he notices me listening. The other part of his problem is that I think speech and social skills don't come easy to him. I notice that he likes to say words he knows, but shuts down when he encounters words he doesn't know. It is almost like he doesn't want to fail. This behavior is something I am to familiar with because I hate failing myself. And, I hate having people see my failures.
For Patrick, his weakness is there for everyone to see and comment on. It is something that people notice right away and point out. It is a sore spot with me because I feel like I have failed my son. Plus, I feel some people feel I'm not a good mom because my son would rather play and explore instead of speak.
A couple of nights away while I was reading a few scripture stories before bed, I had an amazing experience with Patrick. One that I am extremely grateful that I got to experience. We were reading about Joseph from the Bible Storybook - God's Love For You. The short story we read about how Joseph's unfortunate circumstances of being sold into slavery by his brothers was turned into something good by God. Joseph was able to interpret dreams of the pharaoh, and he eventually becomes ruler over Egypt. He saves grain so the people are ready to face the drought. Because he ordered food to be stored up, he was able to save his family from starvation. There is this quote in the story that just rang true to me:
"God cared about Joseph and his family, and He cares about us too. Just as God brought good out of the bad things the brothers had done, He will bring good out of the bad things that happen in your life."After reading this part, the spirit came and spoke strongly to my heart. I took Patrick and told him that even though you struggle speaking and this is your weakness, God will make this weakness strong and he will make something good out of this situation. It was a huge comfort to me because I have been worried sick about my son and I have been praying so much about what to do about him. And these last few days have been completely different. Patrick has been speaking SO much more. Even though I can't understand everything he says and even though it is not a lot compared to other kids his age, it is more than he has done before. To me, this is a miracle and a blessing. I know Patrick felt something that night and felt his Heavenly Father's love. I know God does hear my prayers, and I know that He can make good things out of the bad things that happen in life.
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