Lisa and I have talked on and off the last few months about teaching Ben some sign language. Many believe that infants can learn sign language to communicate earlier than they have the necessary development to form verbal language. We haven't settled on any specific vocabulary yet and I have been exploring options, as has Lisa.
My thought process was to include a list of four or five words that would be the things Benjamin would be most likely to want to communicate to us, his caregivers. At first I looked up words like milk and banana, diaper and up. But as I was again thinking about what words would be helpful yesterday, I explored the options for words that describe his state more than a demand for a specific item, such as hungry, thirsty, wet or sad.
In thinking about prayer, I think some of us choose to communicate with words like milk and up, rather than words like hungry and sad. We come to our Provider with a list, based on our understanding of the solutions to our problems instead of trusting Him to find the best answer. Instead, I want to come to Him with a confession of my state, be it hungry, or something more pressing, and trust that He will lead me to a solution far better than my limited mind can comprehend.
3 comments:
a great friend of mine has 4 kids. One of them is autistic. She began with all her kids teaching them sign language. Finn who is now a year old...I was watching her sign the other day for a cookie and milk. It is a wonderful thing and I so wish that I would of known about signing to infants when I had my two
I hear you Minda. I need to express hunger more often than I do. Instead, I say "I want a cheese burger." While, waiting on the grill is bacon-wrapped steak if I would only be open to other options. How silly I can be!
i love this post.
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