The Stair Victory

 

I am so far behind on blogging, but I feel the need to not wait to share this story until I am caught up.

This past Tuesday I had the awesome opportunity to observe a class of high school students with IDD (Intellectual Deficit Disorder, the new name for MR).  The students were amazing. So cute and just wonderfully created.

I have to admit that I was nervous about the observation. I get uncomfortable in those situations and I just didn’t want to act funny or be weird. I even shared that with the teacher before the students got to class just in case I seemed skittish. Of course, I didn’t want to feel this way and couldn’t really understand why I did. I know they are just like I am and I know they are loved by Jesus and a beautiful creation in his sight.

and, boy, did Jesus remind me of that while I was there.

Part of the daily schedule is to go on a walk. This teaches the students the importance of exercise and using our bodies. The teacher hope to ingrain this in the student’s minds so that when they are no longer students at the school, they will remember to exercise.

As we walked out onto the track around the football field, I noticed “Stevie” hanging back and walking slowly up the wheelchair ramp that led up to the bleacher seats. The teacher told me not to worry about Stevie. This was normal for Stevie and that he just needed time at the beginning of the walk to explore the stairs.  You see, Stevie used to be afraid of the stairs and is slowly exploring them to overcome that fear.

He continued to share with us that at the beginning of the year, he found Stevie at the bottom of the stairs that lead to the bleachers just staring at them. Stevie is non-verbal and unable to verbally express his wants or desires to the teacher, so when the teacher said “What’s wrong Stevie?”, Stevie just looked at the stairs. The teacher, being perceptive, said “Do you want to go up the stairs Stevie?” Stevie flapped his hands in excitement. “Well, go on then.” Again, Stevie just stood there. So the teacher said “Do you want me to go with you?” Again, Stevie flapped his hands in excitement. So up they went, together climbing the stairs that lead to the bleachers.

Since that day the teacher reported that Stevie has slowly been making his way up the bleachers. He will walk up to about the 4th row and then turn around, afraid to go further.

Until that Tuesday.

I was continuing to bombard the teacher with questions about teaching students with IDD when we both looked up at the bleachers and saw something that I am getting chills from right now to think about.

There was Stevie and there was Mr. C, an assistant in the classroom…with their arms draped over each other… climbing the stairs…together. It was clear that Mr. C was basically holding Stevie up and encouraging him the whole way. I imagine he was saying “come on Stevie, one more step, you can do it! I’m next to you! Don’t be afraid! You got this!”

Then they made it. All the way to the top. Arm in Arm.

I wish I would have had a camera to capture that moment when Stevie turned around and excitingly clapped his hands and gave Mr. C a high five. The cheer was not only in Stevie’s eyes, but also in Mr. C’s. It was hard to hold back the tears.

After a minute or so, Stevie and Mr. C climbed back down the same way…arms around each other…slowly… together.

Whew. It was an amazing accomplishment! It was so cool to see! Stevie came over to give us each a high five. He was so proud of himself and we were so proud of him!

What a beautiful picture that was for me. Its just like Jesus carries us. Sometime we don’t want to go that way or take that step a little higher, but he put his arm tightly around our shoulder and supports and encourages us the whole way. We can do it. We can take that step higher. We can love a little more. and we don’t have to be afraid because he is there. and he will carry us and cheer us on for what may seem like the simplest of accomplishments.

Climb those stairs…He’s got you.