(This message was originally on the InScribe Christian Writer’s Fellowship Blog, Dec. 22, 2021)
This post is an effort to give a voice to those unwelcome within the greater scheme of life. Even at a holy time, there are those who live in the shadows.
I am a Leper
I am one of the least of these. No status other than one of no use. I live among shadows. I am not one to be envied, but neither am I to be feared. I am no more a sinner than anyone else.
I wander around the streets at night seeking food from the garbage of pretty people. I sleep often during the day under a bridge or other place of shade. Hopeless, homeless, and heaven less.
“Look at the dirty leper!” “We don’t want an unclean thing around us!” These are words people use to disembowel me as a person. When the Christ child is born. I will matter, I will be seen. I will no longer be alone.
A Magnificent Star
I heard there were important people who follow a star, a magnificent star, like a pillar in the sky, bright and unmistakable in its celestial presence. I looked for many nights, then one cloudless evening I saw it. Yes, like a gigantic candle illuminating my path. I felt so humbled to witness this God-sent object in the sky. By faith, as if prodded by the Almighty, I followed the star.
I Saw Him
I saw Mary and Joseph as they completed their journey. They entered Bethlehem. My faith walk worked. I am pretty sure they didn’t see me. I would never embarrass them by introducing myself. I can’t compete with shepherds and wise men or angels.
From the shadows, I also saw Him. A baby held in the arms of the blessed Virgin. This is the Baby born to be The King. I fell to my knees and, from a feeling deep within me, I cried. He has come!
From the shadows,
I now dance and sing,
For in God’s mercy,
I see The King.
Now I see Him. He is the only One who loved me before the foundation of the world. One day, when I walk out from the shadows and not as afraid of people, I hope He touches me. His touch of love is all I need.
Everyone else may run from me. I am more than familiar with people who throw stones. They laugh when their stones break my skin. Hugs from friends are foreign to me. Darkness is my only embrace.
I know He will not chase me away. He came for the unlovely, of whom I am one.
His touch is all I need,
then I will be freed.
Only this,
The Saviour’s kiss.
A Personal Reflection
My words wept as I wrote this post. In reflecting on this special time of year, my thoughts drove me to the condition of people today. I hesitate even now to write the concluding part of my last message of 2021.
The life of a person shunned by other people is lonely. Their lives result from bigotry, fear, or some other trait of darkened hearts. They may live in the shadows of life hidden from “pretty people,” those accepted by society.
My heart is heavy in the knowledge Canada has created its own “lepers.” A class of Canadian citizens shunned even by the politicians they elected and other loud voices. This time in our collective history, all too prone to a trail of negative narratives, needs The King.
The purpose of my Scarred Joy post in February each year is to highlight experiences with cancer. On December 4, 2017, my wife, my darling, received a diagnosis of uterine cancer. This became her second experience with cancer. On January 9, 2018, she had surgery to remove the cancer. She has been in good health since then. Lord willing, we will celebrate our forty-third wedding anniversary in May 2021.
Although she came through the surgery well, there is still the thought of how an illness like cancer leave its emotional scars on one’s life. In a previous post I included the following thoughts:
… Although the cancer that has shown in her body is a non-aggressive type, the initial shock of the news left its scars…Cancer can mess with one’s mind. Even a “non-aggressive” cancer may cause some fear. It can give your emotions a workout. These are the “scars” I am talking about (Things That Matter In the Face of Cancer: Part One, Dec. 13/17).
This Book a Gift
In 2019 a book writer friend of my darling and I, Glynis M. Belec, published a gift to the world. This gift comes as a book entitled, “Cancer No Laughing Matter (But It Helps.)” I approached our copy of the book with a tender heart and thanks to God. I believe it took a measure of courage and love for Glynis to write this book of hope.
The book includes my darling’s experience with cancer as a story of hope in the book. Glynis does a masterful job of showing readers some of her own cancer journey through her writing. The fact she includes stories of other people adds yet another compassionate side to her writing. I hope this feature will encourage people to buy a copy of “Cancer No Laughing Matter, But It Helps.”
Words by Glynis
For the rest of this post, I want to share words about her cancer experience in Glynis’ own words.
I show you how and why I find hope. I talk about the terror in my heart and the wind beneath my wings. I talk about day to day struggles and how I found peace in the storm. I mention the importance of laughter and the reality of the probability of death. I point out those times when I was maybe being neurotic. Psychotic. Or just plain idiotic. I don’t have answers. I have questions, just like you. But I also have life and post cancer I find that I have it abundantly and I know this sounds so weird and unbelievable – cancer folk will get it – but remember that sluggish grey matter I referred to? Well something very cool happened on my way through the cancer jungle.
Cancer is evil and wretched and vile. But I can seriously say, my life was changed for the good because of cancer. (I can’t believe I just said that). But it’s true. God’s in the business of turning evil into good and for that my cancer was not in vain. Besides, I am a bit of a rebel and I refuse to let cancer have the upper hand.
—Belec, Glynis M. Cancer No Laughing Matter (But It Helps), page 5.
Hope
Cancer does not destroy hope. My darling and dear friends like Glynis are purveyors of hope. Where cancer attacks with vengeance, hope comes alongside those who suffer and offers calmness. Hope helps people to cling to life through family members who remind the one who suffers we love them. Hope is experienced by people in different ways or even beliefs, but it exists. Along with my darling and Glynis, we find our hope in God through Jesus Christ.
My Kind of Final Thoughts on the Post
Since my darling’s first cancer diagnosis in 1983, I am more cognizant of its devastating effects on people and their families. Cancer is more than a physical illness. This enemy also attacks the mind and heart through emotional affects in its attempt to strip us of hope.
Please, if you suspect something is wrong in your body, see your doctor. Do not keep a health scare to yourself. Instead of allowing cancer to terrify you, let cancer fear you!
An opportunity came up for me about a month ago. The opportunity came in the form of an invitation to register for a webinar on “Processing Grief Through Photography and Writing.” The webinar is a presentation of North Van Arts and the instructor is documentary photographer and educator, Felicia Chang, from North Vancouver. Registrants attended the series for four weeks broken into ninety minutes per session.
The webinar is designed to give ideas of how loved ones may be remembered through the combined mediums of photography and writing. The creative part of me resonated with the concept of the webinar as soon as I heard about it.
Felicia Chang brought her own passion, skill, and knowledge as a photographer to the webinar. Her passion to support people in their grief is evident in how she speaks through a transparent heart. As a retired healthcare chaplain, I recognize this combination as one sensitive to people who grieve.
The main reason I participated in this webinar is it resonated well with my current writing project. I already decided photography would be a perfect addition to the book of poetry I am writing.
Grandparent grief is often overlooked, hidden, and not often a topic of conversation. To see life through the eyes of grandparent grief is a unique perspective. This perspective is accompanied by an emotional cloud which hides their pain from view. As a result of my chats and other interactions with grandparents who grieve I hope to give a voice to this hidden grief.
My desire is the photos included in the book will be powerful representations of the poems. This is where my readers will decide if “Plant Them a Garden: A Reflective Work of Grief, Faith, and Poetry,” will indeed be the “voice” I pray it will be.
The photos shown in this post are ones I snapped for the webinar. Each photo represents the brevity of life.
On average, 617 Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer every day.
On average, 228 Canadians will die from cancer every day.
Lung, breast, colorectal and prostate cancer are the most diagnosed types of cancer in Canada (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer). Based on 2020 estimates:
These 4 cancers account for about half (48%) of all new cancer cases.
Almost 1 in 2 Canadians (45% of men and 43% of women) may develop cancer during their lifetime.
About 1 out of 4 Canadians (26% of men and 23% of women) may to die from cancer.[1]
This Scarred Joy post is all about husbands. Before I go any farther, I want to make the following disclaimer. This message is my impression of cancer and an anecdotal point of view of how husband often respond to news of cancer. To be more specific, this post will focus on husbands whose wives have cancer.
My wife has experienced cancer twice. The most recent experience was three years ago at this time of year. This is a reason I write a Scarred Joy post about cancer every December. Cancer is a beast and I hate it. Cancer does not have to be a winner.
It is Okay to Cry
Let us at least try to push aside the view: men and boys do not cry. Men can cry if this is part of who they are. In grief, both women and men make the mistake with an emphasis of a perceived need to be “strong” when other people are present. To cry does not imply weakness.
Now, let me make a point here. I am not saying men must cry as part of their grief process. If tears are part of his grief experience, this is appropriate. If we insist on being strong out of a restrictive societal myth, we stifle our grief.
In my forty-plus years of grief support to people I know men are more reluctant to talk about their grief than women are. My impression is men take more time to process grief before they may talk about it.
Here are a few points I would make if I spoke before a group of men whose wives are ill with cancer.
Guys, cancer will wear you down if you let it. This is where you hang on.
Let you wife know you are on this cancer journey together
Your love for her has not diminished
Resist the pull to always feel you must be strong
Be honest in your own grief
Cry if you need to and know it is okay.
Wait, let us read the last bullet again. Cry if you need to and know it is okay.
There are men who cry tears at special times of the year to them.
Cry for their beloved one in the darkness of night.
They cry for their wives during a break at work.
Cry because they can no longer hold in their pain or fear.
The Downside of a Cry
There are husbands who cry then leave their wives. This is shocking and sad. We can shed tears for these guys. We can shed tears for their wives. I do not get it. Guys leave their wives because of cancer. Guys, we are to love our wives with our caring presence instead of a defeated absence.
Here are the words of another husband about this sad fact.
“When Mary was diagnosed with breast cancer, I felt overwhelmed. I didn’t know what to do, so I started with research. I was shocked to learn that approximately 25 percent of men leave their wife when they first learn of her cancer diagnosis, and 70 percent of men will leave within two years of their wife’s terminal prognosis.”[2]
My friends, we do not have to act like victims to this beast called cancer. The beast does not have to win. As husbands we continue to live and love with our wives. God understands our humanity. He does not scold us as husbands when we get angry over an illness we know is beyond our control. As husbands we want our wives to stay healthy. We wish we could suffer instead of them and cannot imagine life without our wives.
I understand at least to a degree what you may experience on this cancer journey. I am one of you. I am scarred. You may carry emotional scars for the rest of your life. Guys, it is ok to cry, and it is ok if you do not. Stay by your wife’s side and love her. Do not allow your grief to get out of hand. Find a person you trust and express your grief to them.
We may fear cancer but let us not fear the cry of husbands.
Disclaimer: All Scarred Joy posts reflect the author’s view of the world. This one is no different.
I dedicate this Scarred Joy post to my close friend and Covid-19 teacher, Nurse Candi.
In March 2020, the world changed forever. Terms like, “lockdown,” “self-isolation,” “Coronavirus,” “Covid-19,” “virus,” and “pandemic,” became a permanent part of the vernacular. Conspiracy theories became rampant whether the virus posed a genuine threat to anyone or was part of a global plan to take over the world. Misinformation on social media platforms added to the bombastic and overkill of information regarding the pandemic.
I have found it difficult to keep up with how the pandemic has impacted people. I am aware people have died from Covid-19. Others have become sick enough to require hospital care. Society now recognizes doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals as heroes. True dedication and compassion partnered together to save lives.
Although I don’t talk about it often I am aware the pandemic has impacted my life. I am not a hero. Since retirement I am no longer a healthcare professional. All I know is how to be me, like it or not. During this point in time, I hope to find out what I might learn from a pandemic or a world crisis. I am eager to learn what this season of unheard of world change might teach me about myself?
I do not have a scientific mind; therefore I don’t cram my mind with fears of the unknown or data about Coronavirus-19. I’m more interested and focused on how a time like this impacts the lives of people. Here are a few points of what I have been thinking about and observing.
This is a time for the tender-hearted. Although it took me a long time to recognize and admit, I am tender-hearted. I’m sure there are people who might question this, but I accept this part of my personality. This does not mean I am better than anyone else. This means, however, I’m not afraid to show emotions when confronted with sensitive matters or events in life.
This worldwide virus brings out the worst or best in humanity. From my personal point of view, I hope it highlights the good in me amid Covid nightmares. Included in my tenderhearted way of looking at life, I notice other tenderhearted, compassionate people.
The world is all too ready to show its baser side during “normal” times in life. Now is a time for tenderheartedness to shine forth and bright. This isn’t hard. Here is a simple suggestion to show your tender heart. Do a kind act for a person you don’t know. Simple, right? Go on, you can do this!
This is a time for compassion. In Canada I can think of only one leader in the public eye who exemplifies compassion. Her name is Dr. Bonnie Henry, and she is the Chief Medical Officer for the province of British Columbia (BC). Until the Coronavirus leered its ugly face, I never heard of Dr. Bonnie. She now makes daily and accurate announcements about Covid-19 to the people of B.C. through TV and radio.
In June 2020, Dr. Bonnie mentioned the number of people in British Columbia who died from substance abuse during the early part of the Covid crisis. She showed the emotional side of a medical professional who has a genuine compassion for people.
A person like Dr. Bonnie is not without her critics. Perhaps this shows there is a price to pay for genuine compassion. Perhaps this level of compassion is rare today and people don’t know how to respond to it. My critics are not too far away either, therefore it doesn’t surprise me people criticize Dr. Bonnie Henry. My purpose here is not to judge Dr. Bonnie’s critics. I think this point of not judging is more in keeping with compassion.
This is a time for transparency and vulnerability. The beginning of this blog post includes a dedication to a special person in my life. For the sake of this message, I call her Nurse Candi. Nurse Candi is a friend to my wife and I. She is also a Registered Nurse. On top of all this greatness, she is my Covid-19 teacher. She keeps me informed on matters related to Covid I would otherwise miss.
My wife and I have known Nurse Candi for many years. We lost contact with each other for a time, but we are now in regular communication with each other.
One thing I love about Nurse Candi is her transparency and vulnerability. This is a measure of her strength. She has experienced her share of sadness and hardship. Nurse Candi exemplifies a Scarred Joy life. This is a life devoted to living a full life despite grief and hardship. Nurse Candi has never lost her sweet demeanour and heart for people. I’m a blessed man to have her in my life. With people like Nurse Candi in life there will always be hope.
Vulnerable people know others can easily hurt them. They will put themselves out for other people, despite the possibility of harm. They may not always understand this about themselves, for they are living as they were born to be. Vulnerable people are also often transparent.
To be transparent and vulnerable is not a sign of weakness. In my life, Nurse Candi exemplifies this welcome human characteristic. I never have to guess at what she thinks about a particular matter about Covid or life. Do we agree on all matters in life? I doubt it, but that doesn’t matter either. She is not one who will pout and stamp her feet, then walk away if we disagree on something. This trait is rare and remarkable in this present time in history. This is also another reason I love Nurse Candi.
In the grander scheme of things, my voice is minimal and of no significance. This does not stop me from believing our culture needs compassionate people unafraid to admit they are but mortal. The time in which we live is also a time for transparent and vulnerable people. The world has enough phoniness, power mongers, and weak leaders at the best of times. Now is a time for us all as a collective unit to show we care for each other. Let us allow those who are compassionate, vulnerable and transparent show us how.
Like genuine compassion, transparency and vulnerability are qualities the world needs at all times. I may never meet Dr. Bonnie Henry, but I have Nurse Candi in my life and that’s fine with me. Do you have a Nurse Candi in your life? If you do thank God for her. Bask in the warmth of her compassion and give thanks for the gift she is to your life. I know I do.
(First posted on April 22, 2020 on InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship Blog.)
My wife and I live in British Columbia, Canada, in an area known as the Fraser Valley. We live in a small community called, Deroche. We love living here. Farmland, mountains, and the mighty Fraser River surround Deroche. There are evergreen trees as far as the eye can see. There are also countless deciduous trees.
This morning (April 10, 2020) I climb out of bed with a specific purpose in mind. Around six-thirty get dressed, grab my camera, and head for the dike. The dike is a five-minute walk from home. My purpose for rising early is to snap a few shots of sunrise. The dike follows the meander of the Dewdney Slough, our nearby local water body.
The dike is a world unto itself. All year round birds dot the landscape flying and having fun. They also like to sit on the branches of trees or bramble bushes. For most of the year the trees are alive with various shades of green. The deciduous compete with the evergreen as their vibrancy blends in like a patchwork quilt. Spring has its own unique way of showing off in this part of the Fraser Valley. One never gets tired of living in this area. I walk the dike for a few minutes and decide to pause. My eyes are favoured with sights that remind me this is a time of awakenings.
Deciduous trees awake from slumber, shake off the cold of winter, and begin to bud. The grass now stands upright after months of laying low. Ducks and Canada geese float in the slough without a care in the world (well, perhaps except for eagles in the area). The surrounding mountains stand unmoved as the protectors of the Valley. Their usual evergreen attire is always in fashion.
After walking a few metres more it happens. The sun begins to arise and greets the morning. The songs of numerous types of birds resound. Not too far away a few pesky starlings let their presence be known. Black-capped Chickadees and Red Robins join in the chorus to welcome the sun, the star of the morning.
I hold my camera steady and wait for the right moment. You see the sun is an expert tease. The glow becomes brighter as one waits. As if all of a sudden God’s morning star pulls out all the stops to nature’s chorus of glee. A brief glare into the sun’s brightness draws a view of molten gold to one’s mind. There is an awakened awe to an overwhelmed desire to put the camera into action.
For a terrified moment I shudder to think I may have missed a magnificent shot. The camera clicks and a moment of glory is frozen in time. Creation sings to God in the morning and now my eyes, mind, heart, and camera hold His praises close.
As if to never want the moment to end a slow pace to home is enjoyed. At home the clock tells me it is just a few minutes after seven-o-clock. Wow, all that excitement, glory, and praise in less than an hour. The awakenings of a Deroche spring morning are an experience to behold. Perhaps one day you can join me!
I am not new to blogging but I still have a lot to learn about it. Please allow me to give you an idea of who I am and why I blog. I have forty years of experience of supporting people in their grief. This includes professionally and volunteering as well as in my education.
As a boy people fascinated me. For the most part my fascination continues today. Through the years the ways people process their grief is of particular interest. I maintain every person I come alongside who is grieving is my teacher. The same applies to those I have sat with as they near the end of life. Each person is unique and so is how one grieves.
I call my blog, Scarred Joy. Here is an idea of what Scarred Joy means. Scarred Joy is deep grief leading to hope. It is pure raw pain seeing the light of healing. Scarred Joy is weeping and not knowing if we will smile again. We never lose the scars of our grief. In the scars grief and hope are together. We walk through life being familiar with our scars yet moving forward. We move forward in hope.
My hope for Scarred Joy is that it will inspire people to move forward in their lives. We can cling to hope, whatever hope may be. My tagline for my grief work is, Touched by Grief, Held by Hope.
I do not allow other people to tell me how to grieve. I grieve in a way suited to me. I also never tell other people how to grieve. I do, however, encourage people to not be afraid of their grief. Rather, we can honour our grief. Through grieving we can teach ourselves lessons of who we are. If we listen to ourselves even in grief we may gift ourselves with compassion for other people.
Through compassion we learn to empathize with the pain of others. In the grief and death-denying context of North America compassion is vital. Compassion allows one to hug not only a loved one but also a stranger who is grieving. Compassion is recognizing our grief and that of other people can teach us we are not alone. We are in this grief together. This fact may elude some people but it is still real. I hope you will follow my Scarred Joy blog. Please comment about what your read. Even in this way we may learn from each other.
NOTE: This is a revised message of one originally posted on June 10, 2017.
With this particular post I would like to highlight more of the “joy” than the “scarred” part of life. A few years ago a song hit the charts on the radio people still sing today. The song is, “Unchained Melody,” and became a hit due to the singing duo The Righteous Brothers. The song begins, “Oh my love, my darling. I’ve hungered for your love, a long lonely time.”
Who is your love? Is there someone your heart longs for? Is this an easy question for you to answer? I’m sure some people will immediately want to answer with replies like, “I love God and my heart longs for Him!” Okay, I get it and that’s valid. I’ll ask the question again this way. Of all the people you know in your life, whom does your heart hunger for more than anyone else? Unchained Melody is a love song. Who is your “darling”?
One morning I got up early to work on a writing project. My “darling,” my wife, surprised me and arose early also. I thought with it being Saturday she would like to sleep in. I remember when I was going out I noticed my darling relaxing on the couch. I took advantage of the situation to sing ’ Unchained Melody, for her listening pleasure. Well, at least I think she listened! Oh boy, now I’m rethinking whether my darling takes pleasure in my singing. The romantic in me is confident she did.
Now before I go any farther, I have to clarify something. As a more introverted person, I don’t sing to just anyone. My darling and I have been together for years. I feel safe with her and trust her to know more about me than anyone else. If anyone else asked me to sing for them the answer will more than likely be, no.
Do you sing for your darling? Do you long for your darling? Do you hunger for your darling’s touch? My darling is not to be taken for granted. As a selfish creature I may slip from this priority from time to time. I guess it is human to default toward our selfish nature. If you have a darling he or she becomes your heart’s love.
My darling and I have been married to each other for more than forty years. Even after forty-plus years of marriage to the same woman I still have a long way to go. I still make mistakes. I still have selfish moments. I have insecurities. I beat myself up as a failure. I have times where I think I didn’t provide for my wife and family as best I could. I see in such misgivings my own room for growth. It is in light of this standard I pray, Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy.
Years go by and we are getting older. In time our twilight years will be upon us. I dread the time we may be parted. I never want to live without my darling.
The melody of my love for my darling goes on. Sometimes I get out of tune. Sometimes I forget all the lines. Sometimes I feel unworthy of her love. Our melody, however, while perhaps still under construction, is sweet! It is music to my ears!
Oh my love, my darling, after all these years, I still hunger for your love.
This Dec. post is a brief reminder the Christmas season isn’t without times of grief and sadness.
As a boy I remember being excited as Christmas drew near. My imagination worked overtime as I anticipated the fun of Christmas. To me, there was no greater time of year than Christmas Day. Now I am older I still love Christmas.
As years have gone by I recognize the Christmas season has its share of emotional scars. For the most part these scars healed but have not disappeared.
During our forty-one years of marriage my beloved wife has experienced cancer twice. She has survived each time but, of course, not without scars. Her most recent cancer scare came during Christmas season of 2017.
A role of a husband is to protect his wife. I could not protect my wife from cancer either time. I bear the scars of this.
I wrote about my wife’s cancer in a series of Scarred Joy posts in Dec. 2017 and Jan. 2018. I wrote them as a way of processing her journey with this illness. Using the term, “illness,” in this context under states the reality of cancer.
Cancer is an invasion, an assault on one’s whole being. Cancer while a direct assault on an individual impacts other people as well. Perhaps the emotional impact of cancer is most felt in the life of a spouse and one’s children. I will highlight this in a future post.
For the sake of this post I present to you a poem depicting cancer’s assault on a husband.
Cancer At Christmas
Honest with my heart This hurts Cries and whimpers Numbness Shaking a fist at heaven My head supported by my hands Face wet with tears Frozen in time Cancer diagnosis
Why God? –Cancer at Christmas? Help me help her.
My darling, you amaze me Your words calm You say you have peace I enjoy peace with you We hang decorations Drink eggnog Romance each other Hold on Never let go Thankful In the moment
This illness will not win Beneath the surface We have peace Stillness Rest We are together Give thanks Make merry
In the rare silence Of Christmas God is not surprised By this fiend cancer Joy is our companion We weep Rejoice We are not alone Immanuel God with us Unseen yet present
Scarred Joy is primarily devoted to raising awareness and shattering the stigma around Autism. From time to time the blog will highlight stories of people living with autism. Today’s post includes one of these stories. Scarred Joy is presenting to readers a book entitled, The Autistic Author and Animator and its author, Janet Walmsley.
As family members of people on the autism spectrum,
we cannot allow the opinion of anyone place limits on our loved ones. As we
read this post you will see what I mean.
Janet and her
daughter, Jenny, are living proof of smashing the prejudiced views of other
people. Even medical professionals can miss the mark regarding the potential of
those on the spectrum.
Please read the following words from Janet and leave
a comment afterwards at the bottom of the post.
My book, “The Autistic Author and Animator”, is about my
daughter, Jenny, who was diagnosed with low functioning Autism at the age of 3
and was told she would never talk, never do well in school, never be where her
peers are and the list went on. I walked out of that specialist’s office saying,
“That’s not going to happen!”
She faced many challenges on the way to reaching her dream of becoming a
professional animator and published author. It is a heartfelt story which
relays the importance of perseverance, courage, strength within a
mother-daughter bond as their journeys intertwine – revealing a mother who was
her daughter’s rock right from the beginning and did everything in her power to
help her daughter see the light at the end of a dark tunnel.
The Autistic Author and Animator is a striking narrative that
illustrates one’s full potential – a testament that autism is no barrier to
success and fulfillment. We never looked back, full speed ahead with always
taking the positive out of Autism, and yes, there were bumps and trials however
we trucked through them and learned from them.
Jenny is an inspiration and role model not only for the Autistic
Community but also for the General Public as I have so many say to me,
“Wow, if that girl can go through what she did and be where she is today,
what is stopping any of us from pushing down our barriers and going after our
dreams and goals, we want to do a Jenny!”
Jenny is now 26 and is a professional 2D and 3D Animator and she has a
best selling, award winning Fantasy Fiction book, “Dysnomia”, which
is the first of a Trilogy and getting quite a following. She just finished her
second sequel to it and will be published next year.
What a far cry from what I was told when she was 3 years old, so one
must never say never and be your child’s voice, sounding board and rock. Let
them go to the peak that they can, as there are different levels, as they
deserve a rich fulfilled life and to be a part of our society and workforce,
like anyone else.
———————————————
The greater population can learn a
lot from parents like Janet regarding autism. Jenny, also, can teach people the
realities of living with autism. Jenny, and other people like her deserve a
fair shake at reaching their potential. Anything else is unfair and immoral.
As a grandfather of two grandchildren
on the autism spectrum I hope to do my share of raising awareness not only to
autism but also to the people on the spectrum. With people like Janet and Jenny
involved in this desire a difference in our society will be made.
If you have a story about your or a loved one’s experience on the autism
spectrum please feel free to contact Scarred Joy. I would love to feature your
story on a post. Please contact me through the blog at https://scarredjoy.ca. You may
also contact me through email, at caledomiaspirit@gmail.com.
Please order The Autistic Author and
Animator, through
ScarredJoy 