For my readers who do not know me personally this week I am going to talk about my nephew, Mason. He is not technically my blood relative, but he is now and forever will be my nephew. No one can tell me nor him any different.
Mason is 11 and was born with Cerebral Palsy as well as a Congenital Heart Defect. He has faced more in his 11 years than many of us face our whole lives. He has been through heart surgeries, eye surgeries, mouth surgeries, he has had a feeding tube placed and removed, hip surgery, and he spends most of his days in a wheelchair.
This kid, despite his physical disabilities, is the smartest, kindest, most loving child I know. He can tell you about everything on an ambulance, he asks more questions than anyone else could think of, he never forgets anything and will remind you a thousand times if you promised him something.
The bad thing is he still faces discrimination. No matter how hard we try to guard his little tender heart, we simply can not keep him away from all of the evils of this world.
Just recently he has been refused service due to him being in a wheelchair. A simple eye doctor exam that he did not need any physical activity to complete. Mentally there is nothing wrong with him at all, but people look past him or talk in reference to him as if he is not sitting there himself. They see the wheelchair and automatically assume he does not understand. Mason, bless his heart, knew he was being discriminated against.
Shortly after they left that office, we all had lunch here in town. I could tell he was upset. He just was not himself. He said those people made him so mad. I changed the subject trying to cheer him up and get him to tell me about the vacation to the beach they had just got home from.
Out of nowhere a lady that I am very blessed to have met through my previous job came over to speak and she asked Mason could she give him a hug. Now Mason is a ladies’ man so of course he would not turn that down. She hugged him so tight and he lit up with the biggest smile. She told him anytime he saw her anywhere to grab her and give her a big hug.
Now to most this would just be a nice gesture, but to us, especially Mason, it meant the world. If you only knew how big that made him feel after the refusal of service made him feel so small.
So many people see him sitting in that chair and they look past him. So many people act as if he can not understand them at all. They look through him like he doesn’t even exist. He is treated differently from his brother and sisters and it bothers him.
For that split second though, Mason was a kid, a kid that she saw, grabbed and hugged. To any of us that would be small and insignificant, but in that moment, she brightened his day and let him know that he is there, he does matter, and he is loved.
Never judge a book by its cover because it might just cause you to miss out on the greatest blessing of all, a smart, funny, caring kid with a smile that could light up the dark. Instead show kindness, and let a little happiness shine through you into the lives of others. You never know who is watching or in need of a blessing.
