Praying For Patience

I assume things get broken in other people's homes too. But raising a large family of disabled children, was a very expensive experience. All of my children who were able, learned to do dishes and laundry, put away their own clothes; and make their own sandwiches for lunch. In the sweet and willing help they gave, they were often clumsy, and many times careless. Virtually every month, sometimes more, we had an appliance repaired, be it a washer, a dryer, the dishwasher, or a vacuum cleaner. Carpets which were ruined by mud from wheelchairs and feet, and spills; and hopelessly clogged toilets and drains were a steady problem, decade after decade. So were holes inadvertently poked in walls by power wheelchairs. Countless were the small appliances that got dropped. Toasters and crock pots quit. Grills had their handles broken off.

Each child had a tape deck, and they regularly bit the dust. We had a one recreation room for older, and one for younger children, and the VCRs in both rooms regularly bit the dust. I replaced these things, because we used them to supplement science, social studies, and literature in our home school. One adult daughter with severe CP, had a TV/VCR of her own, to watch videos on. This broke again and again, just from use.

Filling the washers too full was a very common way they broke. Tripping or falling on the dryer doors, broke them off. Vacuum cleaners picked up things the children didn't see, or didn't care to see. Usually I could fix it, but often I couldn't, and it went to the shop. At one time, we were using five vacuum cleaners every day. One child was assigned a part of the house to keep clean, and if the vacuums had never broken, it would have worked very well.

Carelessness around the freezers was an irritation. We had a room devoted to the five freezers, for years. The children would get something out for me, and leave the door hanging a bit open all day. This happened so frequently, that ice would cover up the food. The children did a lot of defrosting! For years, I thought they could learn to shut it reliably. Unfortunately, that never happened. Eventually, I taped the door to the standing freezer shut, so only I could use it. From then on, the bread, cheese, balogna, and other items that the children got out, were kept in one of the chest freezers. Two times that I remember, a little one innocently unplugged the chest freezer, and I didn't know. That became a disaster of rotten meat.

* For ye have need of patience. Hebrews 10:36

On a lighter note, when I had four children close in age, with no mental disability, it was a riot. Once, when they were 20 months, 2 1/2, 2 1/2, and 3 1/2, I found them in an upper bunk, picking a hole as big as their heads in the sheetrock wall! The insulation was showing. "What are you doing?" I asked these usually very good children, in astonishment. They turned in happy confidence, replying: "we're seeing what is in there!"

I had several children who broke dresser drawers by accident. A child who cannot stand, or has little balance, will break drawers just by leaning or pulling on them. One did it on purpose. The accidents were unavoidable. But the one who broke them on purpose had me praying for patience all the time. This child also broke the shelves I bought him, by climbing to the top, and jumping. They would end up a pile of boards on the floor. Needless to say, this child ended up with his clothing and toys kept in heavy-duty vinyl toyboxes.

* But thou, O man of God ... follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 1 Timothy 6:11

A needless waste of money was very irritating to me. I would get upset if it was simple carelessness, and I knew it. But when it was because of the disability, I didn't. I do remember things breaking, however, as being one of the most annoying parts of life. Very much prayer went up to God, concerning my desire to be patient, for I knew patience pleased Him, and it was HARD for me at times like this!

* Walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience, and longsuffering with joyfulness; giving thanks unto the Father. Colossians 1:10-12