No Ordinary Boy

My first born, my Son, is no ordinary boy. Anyone who has spent any time with him knows what I mean when I say this. When he was born, he was born on the autism spectrum and was unable to speak for his early infant years. Through an act of God, my now 11 year old son never has a shortage of words. He loves talking with people and has never once met a stranger. However, one of the tendencies that can be linked to subtle autism is his absolute fascination with garbage trucks.

There isn’t anything fleeting about this fascination my son experiences when the garbage man comes to the house. The combination of the hydraulics and levers, every Friday morning is an epic moment in the Crawford house. No matter the weather, at 6 in the morning Jalen implores the entire family to come with him down the stairs to see his favorite thing in the whole world. Not only does he watch the garbage trucks but he has made friends with the men he looks up to who operate the trucks. The man who has our house on his route, Andre, even lets Jalen push the switches and sit in the truck. To him, the sanitation workers have capes, magic powers, and everyone should aspire to be like them.

Most people would probably look at garbage men as the complete opposite. In fact, the way Jalen sees most people contradicts how the world around them would judge and categorize them. What I have learned from being around him is probably one of the greatest things one human could teach another. The way Jalen often looks at others is how I am sure God looks at us. Though we all are in his kingdom, outside of Jesus we are lowly, but God sees us in the eyes of how Jalen sees Andre, not by his title but in a much brighter light. He sees the goodness, yes Jesus sees us in his redemption.

This might seem like an easy thing to do, but the reality is that it has challenged me as much as anything could challenge a person. Ask yourself, how do you view your spouse when they mess up? What about your friends, co-workers, or even perfect strangers? We are to regard no one from a worldly perspective but as image bearers of God (2 Cor 5:16). I try with my son, though it’s hard; I try every single day, I try to be as good of a man as my son is a boy.

Thank you for teaching me Jalen, Daddy loves you.