For something or someone to be life giving, it must be revitalizing and energizing. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines life giving as giving or having the power to create or support life. Yet, I think it is more than that. Or, maybe the way I interpret life to be is more than that. I think life giving is something or someone who gives my life true purpose and meaning. It can be life giving to try to love others unconditionally, and watch the guard around a heart come down. It is life giving as I experience the gift of other people, young and old, whose presence I would not want to live without. To be life giving is a joy to the spirit which is felt when doing something meaningful, or being with meaningful people.
I have been grappling with applying the idea of life giving in the midst of hardship. The last school year, after only three months of being at the new school, Mia's first grade teacher requested further testing to be done. She had concerns about Mia's ability to work independently, follow instructions given in the classroom, and make academic progress. It was redemption, really, since up to that point, only three months earlier, I had been told by the former school that Mia was perfectly fine and showing "no disability". A fact that brought such turmoil to my mother instinct. And so, last month, Mia began a rigorous battery of tests performed by the school psychologist and speech therapist. It was a battery so thorough that there was no other conclusion except that these professionals clearly care about my daughter. Yet, as I read through those reports, my heart broke. There was proof, in black and white letters, that my daughter was unable to make progress in the typical second grade classroom. She needed more. Much more. This was not just an ESL issue, or even a communication delay. It was more.
And so, yesterday, a day which was already tough with other things going on in my life, I entered the school building hopeful. Perhaps this IEP meeting would be different. It no longer seemed that I was the only one who saw the issues my daughter struggles with. As I entered the room I thanked the professionals for their care of Mia. They have genuine concern for my girl, and during the meeting it became apparent that they agreed with my mama instinct. Mia is challenged to learn in the typical classroom environment. She was not making "effective progress" offered even by having a classroom assistant in the room to help her. She needs much, much more. And so, Mia will begin daily learning in a small group resource classroom with a special education teacher. She will go back to her big classroom for fun things, such as recess, lunch, arts and music, and physical education. She can have science with the rest of the class. But her reading, writing, and math will no longer be with her typically developing peers. Because she is not able to learn like they do.
I was crushed, again, by the weight of all of this. It is so hard to have professionals say *my* child is not making effective progress. That she is unable to learn like her peers. That she will not, simply, catch up. I started to despair. Until, I was reminded of the words life giving. These people, the therapists and teachers will be, for Mia, life giving. They bring her joy. The school psychologist told me of how when Mia sees her, she runs to greet this psychologist with a huge hug. The nurse told me how Mia happily nibbles on her lunch while laughing in the cafeteria. Her speech therapist told me how Mia is so motivated to try her best with any task given to her. And the new special education teacher, told me how she is so thrilled to have Mia with her for a good part of her day. Life giving.
In the drudgery of life there are people who are life giving. I felt it through the outpouring of prayers, positive thoughts, and encouragement as I endured this week. Those who surrounded me can only be described as life giving. They simply sustain us and bring us hope or joy, just by offering themselves. This is so true for the people in Mia's life. She doesn't care that the road ahead of her is going to be different than the road for her peers. She likely doesn't understand that it will be. Mia just sees the beauty and joy that comes with her own road and the people who are on it with her. She embraces the situation and finds meaning. Life giving.
As we prepare for China I am reminded that this trip will have plenty of opportunity to be life giving. We will certainly receive the gift of others, in both orphans and caregivers, and we will find meaning in what we are setting out to do. Life giving. As I witness unspeakable greed of an adoption agency involved with placing a precious baby girl with thalassemia who waits in Hannah Joy's orphanage, I choose to find a way to be life giving. I choose to be a voice for her, and speak out against the system of making money over saving a life for critically ill children. Life giving. And as I parent my daughter who will be on a different path than most, I will choose to see the beauty in the difference. Through parenting Mia, I will have opportunity to meet others, and undoubtedly, these others will be life giving. For both of us.
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