The following is an excerpt from A Sunny Tomorrow, A collection of Christian based stories for children.
Am I Special?
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| A Sunny Tomorrow |
My mom is beautiful. Everyone
thinks so. When we walk in a store, people stop to stare at her.
My dad is very smart.
He knows almost everything. If
you need to know something, just ask my dad.
He can answer your question.
I’m just a regular kid.
My sister, Emily is three years
old. She can’t hear with her ears. She has never heard a word. That is why she is can’t talk yet. When the
doctor told my parents that she has special needs, my mom couldn’t stop
crying. Dad looked really sad. Emily has been special to us since she was
born. We love Emily even more now that
we know she has special needs.
Mom and Dad took Emily to school for
Special Education classes because she needs special teachers to help her learn
to talk with her hands. Mom and Dad are
going to classes at night to learn to talk to Emily with their hands. It is called Sign Language. Right now Emily doesn’t hear what I say, but
she knows I love her.
Everywhere we go; people ask what
is wrong with Emily. Mom and Dad say,
“Nothing is wrong with Emily. God made
her perfect. She can talk with her hands
and hear with her eyes. She is a very
special child.”
On Monday I walked Emily to her
Special Education class. When she walked
in her teacher said, “There’s our special girl.”
At lunch the principal said, “Mrs.
Jones, please get Emily a special tray from the cafeteria.”
When we rode the bus home the
driver said, “Why don’t we put Emily in a special seat?”
That night the lady at the store
handed Emily a lollipop and said, “There you go, special girl”
On Tuesday Emily went in my room
and broke my new toy. I got really angry
and yelled at her even though she can’t hear me. Then Mom yelled at me. “Don’t
yell at her. You know she has special
needs.”
On Wednesday I was doing my
homework at the table. Emily grabbed my
paper and tore it. I started crying
because I had to do the paper again. Mom
said, “Don’t be a cry baby. Emily didn’t
know any better. She can’t help it if
she has special needs.”
On Thursday Emily took my ice cream
away from me. I grabbed it back. Mom said, “Go stand in the corner. We don’t treat our special girl that way.”
I stood in the corner crying. Emily came up to give me a hug and I pushed
her away. Dad said, “I am very
disappointed in you. I think you shouldn’t
watch television for two days.” I told
him that I didn’t care about that stupid television. Now I can’t watch television or ride my bike
for two days.
On Friday when we got off the bus,
I didn’t wait for Emily. I just ran in
the house. Mom said, “Where is
Emily?” I said, “She’s coming.” Mom sent me to my room. Then she went outside and brought Emily in
the house. When Dad got home, she told
him that I left Emily outside by herself.
Dad came into my room and said, “I
don’t know what is wrong with you. You
have been mean to Emily all week. The
Bible tells us to be kind to special people.
Emily will never be able to hear.
God made her special.”
On Saturday I had a baseball game,
but Mom and Dad couldn’t watch me play because they had to go to the class to
learn to talk with their hands. I was the only kid at the game with no mom or
dad watching. After the game all the
other kids went to get ice cream with their mom or dad. I walked home alone.
When Mom and Dad got home, I asked
if we could go get ice cream. They said
no because they had learned some new words to teach Emily. I asked if maybe we could go on Sunday after
church. They said no because my
grandparents wanted to see Emily.
I know God made Emily special, but
He made me first. Doesn’t that make me
special? If Dad is so smart why can’t he
see that being made first is special too?
I went to my closet and got the
suitcase that I take to Grandma’s house.
Then I started putting clothes in it.
When I was finished, I started out the door, but Dad saw me. He said, “Where are you going?” I said, “Well I am the only one here that is
not special, so I guess God put me in the wrong house. I am going to find a house with regular
people in it.”
Mom came in from the kitchen and
said, “What did you say?” I said, “I am
going to live in a house with people who are just like me, not special.”
Mom said, “Why do you think you are
not special?”
I said, “Because everyone is always
saying how special Emily is. No one
thinks I’m special.”
Mom and Dad said, “We do. We think you are special.”
Mom said, “I guess we forget to
tell you how special you are to us.”
Dad said, “We are sorry for paying
so much attention to Emily that we forgot about you. We need to show you how special you are to
us. This is your special night. What would you like to do?”
Mom asked a babysitter to stay with
Emily. Then Mom and Dad took me to eat
pizza and ice cream. While we ate I told
them all about my game. They listened
and talked to me. They talked about my
game and my grades. They talked about a
lot of stuff. But they didn’t talk about
Emily.
Am I special? Yes I am, just because I am me.
