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Inspirational poems.

15 replies

MumofOscar · 29/04/2010 15:47

OK lets see if this works. I found this poem today and found it moving and inspirational. I'm sure there must be loads more so i thought i'd start a thread and you can add yours too iyswim.

The Special Child

The Child, as yet unborn, spoke with the Father.
"Lord, how will I survive in the world? I will not be like the other children, my walk may be slower, my speech hard to understand. I may look different. What is to become of me?"

The Lord replied to the child.
"My precious one, have no fear, I will give you exceptional parents, they will love you because you are special, not in spite of it. Though your path in life will be difficult, your reward will be greater. You have been blessed with a special ability to love, and those whose lives you touch will be blessed because you are special"

OP posts:
hatchypom · 29/04/2010 16:32

The one that I see all the time is Welcome to Holland, will try and find the link

meerkatsandkookaburras · 29/04/2010 17:15

WELCOME TO HOLLAND
by
Emily Perl Kingsley

c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley.
All rights reserved

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

MumofOscar · 30/04/2010 09:09

Ooh thanks for that Meercats. I've seen that one before but forgotten all about it. There's another one i like about God finding special mums - i'll have to try and find that one.

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justaboutkeepingawake · 30/04/2010 09:25

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hatchypom · 30/04/2010 09:25

The Special Mother by Erma Bombeck

Did you ever wonder how the parents of handicapped children are chosen?

Somehow I visualize God hovering over earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger.

?Armstrong; son. Patron saint?give Gerard. He?s used to profanity.?

?Forrest; daughter. Patron saint, Cecelia.?

?Rutledge; twins. Patron saint, Matthew.?

Finally he passes a name to an angel and smiles, ?Give them a handicapped child.?

The angel is curious. ?Why them God? They?re so happy.?

?Exactly,? smiles God, ?Could I give a handicapped child to a family that does not know laughter? That would be cruel.?

?But have they patience?? asks the angel.

?I don?t want them to have too much patience or they will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wears off, they?ll handle it.?

?I watched them today. They have that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a family. You see, the child I?m going to give them has her own world. They have to make her live in their world and that?s not going to be easy.?

?But, Lord, I don?t think they even believes in you.? God smiles, ?No matter, I can fix that. They are perfect ? they have just enough selfishness.? The angel gasps ? ?selfishness? is that a virtue??

God nods. ?If they can?t separate themselves from the child occasionally, they?ll never survive. Yes, here is a family whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. They don?t realize it yet, but they are to be envied. They will never take for granted a ?spoken word??. They will never consider a ?step? ordinary. When their child says ?Momma? for the first time, they will be present at a miracle, and will know it!?

?I will permit them to see clearly the things I see?ignorance, cruelty, prejudice?.and allow them to rise above. They will never be alone. I will be at their side every minute of every day of their life, because they are doing my work as surely as if they were here by my side?.

?And what about their Patron saint?? asks the angel, his pen poised in mid-air.

God smiles, ?A mirror will suffice.

thks meercats - I couldn't find it yesterday

hatchypom · 30/04/2010 09:27

think i prefer holland, not sure i like the "god gave you .... because he knew you'd cope" for exactly the same reasons justabout mentioned. I certainly don't feel very saintly most of the time.

Ampersand44 · 30/04/2010 10:04

This is not a poem, but a quote on a postcard I keep over my desk. It is from Anne Bronte's Agnes Grey and I picked it up in Haworth:

'Patience, Firmness, and Perseverance were my only weapons; and these I resolved to use to the utmost.'

I am not good at keeping to it, but I do try! The other ones on this post are lovely, but they all make me cry at the moment because I have not quite got to grips with Holland

DJAngel · 30/04/2010 10:45

I remember reading the Holland one very early on and feeling moved and heartened by it's message and then I didn't hear it again til someone read it out at a course I was on. On that occasion I was in a really dark place and thought it was all sentimental bo***cks - and crass and minimising/ trivialising my experience.. It made me really angry. A year or so on and I can now see it's message does have something to offer and have softened a bit. I have even suggested some of my family and friends read it.. Funny how we go through different emotional phases almost without realising it.

I like the Special Mother one coz it always makes me cry and although I'm not religious at all, and I agree that certainly I'm not the saintly type it gives me something to aspire to, and in some ways helps me to feel a bit ' special ' as we struggle through and that's essential now and again. Will have a look for some others I came across in the early days.. Nice thread..

cyberseraphim · 30/04/2010 10:57

I like this one - I prefer humour to being inspired. I find the 'religious' ones a bit 'Church of Hallmark' but I don't know the background, maybe they are genuine.

How to give parents a pre-natal diagnosis

I'm very sorry, I have the results of the genetic tests and they have confirmed our suspicions that your foetus is what we call ... Normal.

Some people prefer the terms "Ordinarily Challenged" or "Normal Syndrome". The syndrome can be easily identified by a complete lack of any interesting genetic characteristics. I know this will come as a shock to you, but you should be aware of what this is likely to mean.

If your foetus manages to survive the rest of the pregnancy and the birth, which is becoming more common these days, he or she will face some daunting challenges. Children who suffer from normalcy are prone to health and psychological problems. It is almost certain that the growing child will suffer a seemingly endless stream of viruses. They will frequently damage themselves, and sometimes others, from their excessive energy.

Their relentless demands will put a strain on your existing family and, of course, your relationship with your partner will suffer, and possibly end in a painful and acrimonious separation. Any children you already have, even if they also suffer from normalcy, will be jealous of the newcomer and all their extra attention. Many siblings are liable to be psychologically scarred by the new arrival.

I need hardly mention the financial consequences, although disastrous, they will be nothing compared to the emotional turmoil your life will suffer.

After a while, you may be lucky and find they can be kind and loving young children. They may find some temporary happiness in things such as music, dancing, food or playing with toys.

But if they survive early childhood, a Normal child is almost certain to grow into a Normal adolescent. Your years of sacrifice will be thrown back in your face as they become disobedient, wild and reckless. Unable to find happiness and contentment, they will treat you with contempt until they manage to leave home. Even then the suffering will continue as they will often return to try and extract money. They will blame you for their own faults and leave you bitter and twisted.

They may well become criminals, over a quarter of Normals will have trouble with the law, many will spend time in jail. Many will have problems with alcohol or drug abuse. Normal marriages are often unhappy and short and over half end in divorce.

Even if they become successful this is likely to be because of the often observed tendency of Normals towards excessive greed. The chances of them sharing their success with you are remote and they will tend to see you as an embarrasment.

Finally, Normal people are likely to die before their time. 23% will die of cancer, 33% of heart disease. Hundreds every year in this country alone are so distressed by their condition that they take their own life. I'm sorry to say that many will have had a lonely, painful and pointless existence.

I am afraid that Normal Syndrome is a genetic condition that affects every cell of the body, and so is impossible to cure.

Termination is an option.

Shall I book an appointment?

Copyright B. Lincoln

imahappycamper · 30/04/2010 11:19

I am a Christian but I still find the whole "chosen by God" thing hard to cope with, probably because so much of the time I get it badly wrong and then heap guilt upon myself as well as all the other emotions that go with having a child with Aspergers.
I heard the Holland one on a course too and was reduced to tears because my DD had just been diagnosed with a progressive condition which meant that I had started out in Italy (bright successful outgoing DD) and ended up with a transfer to Holland as it were. Then when DS2 was diagnosed with Aspergers it took on a different meaning.
However on a good day Holland is OK and you meet some really good people in this parallel universe that you wouldn't have met otherwise.

cyberseraphim · 30/04/2010 11:22

I suppose I thought I was in Italy til around 20 months then realised I wasn't !! I blame the Guidebooks....

imahappycamper · 30/04/2010 11:43

Yes I suppose most of us had that problem. I thought I was in Italy for 26 years though!

badkitty · 30/04/2010 13:21

Thanks cyberseraphim - that made me smile

thederkinsdame · 30/04/2010 15:30

I was lucky enough to find the 'Holland' one when I was PG. When we got dx, it was a comforting thing to read.

justaboutkeepingawake · 30/04/2010 17:19

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