Celebrating birthdays is such fun, especially when they are your own!  Not every eleven-year-old has their birthday announced on the local news, but I was most pleased with the reactions to the Guardian article I wrote as it took me a long time to write.  On 27^th January we marvel as a family at another year together and give thanks.

 

A Psalm of Thanksgiving for Eleven Years

Rejoicing in God’s lavished love,

Celebrating His glorious goodness for the last eleven years,

You have cradled me in the crook of your arms,

Comforting me in the unreachable blackest night,

For some, darkness would have opened the door to despair,

But, your hope-fuelled love gives me freedom to dance life’s joy,

Your serene peace massages my soul,

As I await your call home forever.

Rejoice in God’s goodness evermore – Amen!

© Jonathan Bryan

What do you like to chat about? For me there is nothing better than chatting on the sofa with family and friends. But, can you imagine hearing people chat about you as if you are not there? Or worse still, hearing people say nasty things about your family as if you are not there or part of them. Using a voice usually reserved for babies and toddlers, occasionally when I meet new people or some professionals working with disabled children, I am treated to a charade of high pitched, sing-song toddler talk. Combined with a volley of over-used rhetorical questions, with an answer neither expected or waited for, the result is an auditory over-load.

Why do people talk to us like this? Often it reflects their own insecurities and in the case of professionals the pervading culture with special children.  Silence seems to scare people; silence in conversation is its life-breath.

Wonderfully I am blessed by people around me who interact with me like a ten-year-old, looking at me when they talk and giving me time to respond.  Thinking of my next witty remark and making people laugh is so invigorating.  

Any interaction is better than none, so please chat to people like me!