Though our constitution truthfully states

that all “men” are created equal,

the reality in this fallen world is:

“All” are not equally endowed. 

As a mom, I try to be an “equalizer”.  You know, keep everything fair and more-or-less-the same. I find it’s a formidable, if not impossible task when dealing with something abstractly complicated such as “intelligence”.

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When our world stopped “quaking” after Beth’s diagnosis, my “mother bear” rose up and I ferociously devoured every bit of information I could read on brain development and how to arrest mental retardation.  (MR- those two words still nauseate me.  Probably from hearing the “R” word thrown at kids who were struggling or slower, even though I know from my music background, “retardo” has no painful judgement attached to it- to “retard” quite simply means  “slow down.”)

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 Immersing and educating myself about how to help Bethany, our family came up with a plan of action.  We focused our energies into providing opportunities galore to help Bethany with her speech, physical skills, and of course, reading. Though I had home schooled my other children- this was a horse of a different color.

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Plan of Action: Every thing taught would be done with:

FREQUENCY- INTENSITY- DURATION! 

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Those three words were our mantra.  If it took “typical kids” three times to learn something, it might have to be 15 or 20 times for Bethany. It was exhilarating as we experienced one victory after another.  Her delays- what delays?  She seemed to be overcoming every obstacle and I became convinced- she would “escape” and somehow be “normal”. 

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That’s another word that is so ambiguous it doesn’t even make sense when applied to people!  What is normal and why would any of us want to be that anyway?

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I was blissfully unaware, caught up in my excitement for Bethany as she was learning, that it caught me off guard as I realized her milestones were getting farther and fewer between.

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[Tweet “”Stop #ranking people on an inequitable scale- Embrace #everyone with #GodsLove #inclusion”]

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It has become “painfully” obvious as I home school Bethany, that while she is abundantly gifted with love, compassion, and joy,

her brain is complexly challenged.

An epiphany dawned when we went to the National Downs Syndrome Conference in Kansas City.  We attended a lecture in which the doctor was explaining how the downs syndrome brain is different.   With brain imaging, a “typical” brain would look like a lit up highway at night.  “Information” would appear as lights and look like they were being shuttled rapidly through a profusion of pathways.

However, with downs syndrome, the extra chromosome overproduces (it gets complicated here LOL but let’s just say that “extra” in down syndrome is counterproductive physically 🙂 )  This leads to the brain not being able to make as many pathways- or pathways with dead ends. Thus, with brain imaging, Beth’s brain would look like a small town with fewer highways, making the information being transported                  s  l  o  w  e  r   to transport and perhaps, having to re-route the information to get to the correct destination.  This explains why I need to often repeat a question or a direction to Beth and give her enough time to process her thoughts so she can answer and respond.

So, what does all this mean and where is the hidden treasure in this?

1.  I’ve learned that “THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE.”  

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I don’t have to be under the pressure that Bethany somehow has to “keep up” to be “normal.”

She can’t.

She doesn’t have enough neural pathways in her brain.  BUT she does have enough to learn- I just have to know it’s going to be slower and not as great of a capacity of someone who has an 120 IQ!  (But then, neither do I 🙂 )

She has a soul and a spirit to know and learn about her Creator.  The Westminster Catechism states- “MAN’S CHIEF END IS TO GLORIFY GOD AND ENJOY HIM FOREVER.”  She can definitely accomplish that no matter how many neurons she has!  🙂

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2.  Maybe the greatest thing I’m learning is that God’s love and delight is not based on our achievements or educational exploits or skilled performance.

[Tweet “God #loves us because He made us. We are His #treasure.”]

 Brilliant or not so brilliant, overweight or underweight, typical or non-typical, clutzy or graceful, musically gifted or tone-deaf, outgoing or shy:  the list could go on infinitely!

 [Tweet ” “MAN’S CHIEF END IS TO GLORIFY GOD AND ENJOY HIM FOREVER.” “]

Surprising Treasure:  All men and women are created equal because our Father has assigned equal worth and value to each one of us- despite our differences! He loves us!  He’s committed to us!   Let’s wrap our brain around that magnificent thought today!