This morning I stumbled across a tweet about Signing Time’s 10th Anniversary. I have loved Signing Time for years (and have blogged about it numerous times!) so I clicked over to enter their contest and watch some special video interviews with co-founder Rachel and her family.
I was (as usual) so inspired by them. They saw a need (help hearing kids communicate with deaf kids) and filled it. And they started a movement with it! Rachel’s daughter, Leah (who is deaf) is articulate, confident and adorable.
Don’t you love them?
So, I watched all 3 videos on their site and was all inspired by a mom’s love and action. Then I randomly saw a video that Karla shared on facebook about Helen Keller. Watch this:
How amazing and inspiring is that? She couldn’t see or hear and couldn’t communicate with anyone until she was SIX years old! How hard she must have pushed herself to speak and to learn!
Then I started thinking about the difference a hundred or so years makes! The strides we’ve made in just everything is so amazing! Today we might be sad if our child is born deaf but it’s not what it was 100 years ago. There are cochlear implants, computers, sign language and more.
But regardless of time, I see a common theme between these two stories. These 4 women–Hellen Keller & Ann Sullivan and Rachel & Leah Coleman didn’t allow their situation to push them back a few steps, they are using it like a slingshot and catapulted themselves to do more and change the world!
I’m just reflecting over my day–I spent the kids’ nap time reading blogs and checking my email. I ignored the things that I should have done today because I was “too tired”. But I don’t think that’s how GREATNESS is accomplished. I don’t think The Awesome shows up unless we push and labor for it. Unless we, like Rachel and Helen say, “I want more. And I’m gonna make it happen.”
What’s my awesome? What do I need to make happen? What am I sitting on?
It occurs to me frequently that I am living so far below the measure of my creation. Keep these posts coming, because they are absolutely causing that stir in me to finally discover my own awesome. Thanks for that!
Good description–living below the measure of my creation. It’s worth thinking about at least, isn’t it?!
Wow, love them! Thank you so much for sharing and thanks for asking hard questions about greatness. I too waste lots of my time reading blogs instead of achieving things God intended for me.
As the mom of a DHH daughter, I feel your list of ways in which raising a deaf child today differs from years ago is missing something: hearing aids. Cochlear implants are fine if the child has certain types of hearing loss; my daughter’s loss, diagnosed at age 3.5, is sensorineural. Cochlear implants aren’t an option for her or the many other kids with similar losses; in fact, they’d effectivey destroy what residual hearing she does have.
As the mom of a DHH daughter, I feel your list of ways in which raising a deaf child today differs from years ago is missing something: hearing aids. Cochlear implants are fine if the child has certain types of hearing loss; my daughter’s loss, diagnosed at age 3.5, is sensorineural. Cochlear implants aren’t an option for her or the many other kids with similar losses; in fact, they’d effectivey destroy what residual hearing she does have. Hearing aids give her hearing aboost.
This is the first time I’ve seen this video. Remarkable. It’s amazing how a soul can yearn to communicate, and figure out a way to do it!
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Hands down, Apple’s app store wins by a mile. It’s a huge selection of all sorts of apps vs a rather sad selection of a handful for Zune. Microsoft has plans, especially in the realm of games, but I’m not sure I’d want to bet on the future if this aspect is important to you. The iPod is a much better choice in that case.
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