Today I am going through the many brown, cardboard boxes of books that have been stored since I moved to the valley. I gave up a couple of bookcases when I moved here. So now I get to decide which ones will grace my new bookcase. I’ve missed these books, and it feels like they have missed me. I can almost hearing them catching their breath as they break surface again. Ahh! Light! Air! Touch!
I am so happy as I finger these covers and pages that have healed me and taught me and affirmed me over decades of living. As the four shelves of the bookcase begin to name themselves, I laugh out loud as the books know where they want to go and beside whom they want to rest! As well I am laughing because these books certainly do name me. Who am I? Well, look at my bookcase and you’ll get a pretty good picture!! Spirit. Art. Poetry. Mystical wanderings. Prayer. Nature. Whimsy. Soul.
What has stopped me in my tracks, however, is an encounter with a 40 year old book. I was twelve when my school librarian gave this to me as a gift. I worked alongside of her that year as a volunteer, and I remember being happy that I could help her and be with books at the same time. How did she know that this was the book for me? What did she see in me that pulled her to say, “This is the gift that has Kathy’s name on it?” Or did I read this book from our library and mention to her how much I loved it, and from that she bought me a copy? I don’t remember. But what is so stirring is that it feels like I have been following a graciously Divine path all these
many years.
I am so happy as I finger these covers and pages that have healed me and taught me and affirmed me over decades of living. As the four shelves of the bookcase begin to name themselves, I laugh out loud as the books know where they want to go and beside whom they want to rest! As well I am laughing because these books certainly do name me. Who am I? Well, look at my bookcase and you’ll get a pretty good picture!! Spirit. Art. Poetry. Mystical wanderings. Prayer. Nature. Whimsy. Soul.
What has stopped me in my tracks, however, is an encounter with a 40 year old book. I was twelve when my school librarian gave this to me as a gift. I worked alongside of her that year as a volunteer, and I remember being happy that I could help her and be with books at the same time. How did she know that this was the book for me? What did she see in me that pulled her to say, “This is the gift that has Kathy’s name on it?” Or did I read this book from our library and mention to her how much I loved it, and from that she bought me a copy? I don’t remember. But what is so stirring is that it feels like I have been following a graciously Divine path all these
many years.
This book, KAREN, written by her mother, Marie Killilea is a beautiful story of love and resilience. Karen was born prematurely and due to that she lived her life with cerebral palsy. But get that… she LIVED her life. Doctors told her parents to simply institutionalize her and forget her… but loving parents know best! Thanks to that love, her
parents were trailblazers! Not only did they insure Karen’s appropriate therapies, but they helped to open windows and doors for so many others embracing life with cerebral palsy. According to internet news, Karen is now 70 and is a receptionist at a retreat center in New York.
A few weeks ago at work, I sat before students who shared their gifts and talents with a very engaged audience. Each student had me smiling as they held out their offerings, but one dear child absolutely had me in tears. She was a senior this year, ready to take flight, and what she shared was this: Though she sees differently than you
and I, and though her arms and legs move in ways we have not known… she shared her gift song by way of sign language. Yes. Let that sink in for a moment. A beautiful young woman with cerebral palsy and vision concerns stood before us all and most graciously signed a song in ways that we could hear it and see it and feel it.
And later this week, I’ll journey to the home of a family who’s blessed 18 month old is loving life in the midst of her own cerebral palsy and vision concerns. And we shall love as Karen’s mother loved, and we shall advocate as Karen’s mother advocated. And we shall witness the holy goodness of life that comes in many forms.
Forty years ago, a teacher gave me a book…
parents were trailblazers! Not only did they insure Karen’s appropriate therapies, but they helped to open windows and doors for so many others embracing life with cerebral palsy. According to internet news, Karen is now 70 and is a receptionist at a retreat center in New York.
A few weeks ago at work, I sat before students who shared their gifts and talents with a very engaged audience. Each student had me smiling as they held out their offerings, but one dear child absolutely had me in tears. She was a senior this year, ready to take flight, and what she shared was this: Though she sees differently than you
and I, and though her arms and legs move in ways we have not known… she shared her gift song by way of sign language. Yes. Let that sink in for a moment. A beautiful young woman with cerebral palsy and vision concerns stood before us all and most graciously signed a song in ways that we could hear it and see it and feel it.
And later this week, I’ll journey to the home of a family who’s blessed 18 month old is loving life in the midst of her own cerebral palsy and vision concerns. And we shall love as Karen’s mother loved, and we shall advocate as Karen’s mother advocated. And we shall witness the holy goodness of life that comes in many forms.
Forty years ago, a teacher gave me a book…
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