Thankful Thursday

Thank you, God, for the many blessings you have bestowed upon this organization. Most times we take for granted the opportunities and provisions you have provided for us, not stopping to say thank you.

You have given us a place for this organization to thrive, a community with support and giving in their hearts, parents who carry more love with them than many I have ever met; you have provided the means by which we can give therapy, found no where else in South Carolina, to children who need it.

Each day I witness your works, whether in the children who come through these doors or in the acts of kindness and generosity given by even the most random of supporters.

It isn't about how much money we receive or how many kids we serve, but about the reason we serve the children we do.
So why do we do this? Why do we work so hard to provide a variety of unique therapies to children who need them? Why do we fight with Medicaid day in, day out, to pay for these therapies? Why do we travel to Michigan just to be trained in a specific method of treatment? Why do we stress out over even the tiniest of details here at this organization? What makes this worth all of the anxiety, the pressure, the long hours, everything, worth it?
Have you been reading anything I have written? Or looked at the children in the pictures I have posted? The joy of accomplishment, of meeting goals that may seem simple in the eyes of everyone else. Here, these are milestones; these are miracles. Every person who puts effort into this place--whether they be a therapist, an admin, a conductor, an aide, a donor, or just a random person who shows interest--receives one of the most awesome gifts: the smile of a special needs child.
There are many in the world who don't quite understand special needs; they think that something must be wrong with them because they don't look like or act like they do. On the contrary, my dear friend. It is we who are weak. Special needs children are stronger than us: they have the capability and the drive to make it through more obstacles than we do. When the world tells them they can't, we believe and know they can, then they do it. When they world tells them they shouldn't, we say they should. and they do it.
Thank you, God, for blessing each of us with the opportunity to come together with the same goal in mind: to reach out to those in need and provide ways for them to overcome those obstacles life tells them they can't hurdle over. Thank you, God, for every pair of feet to walk, or roll, through these doors, and continue to bless this organization.

Amen.