Rafael and I were recently shopping at Whole Foods grocery store. We love to sample products.
I was talking to Suzanne who was presenting samples of coffees roasted by developmentally disabled employees in Maryland, which is a state bordering Virginia where Rafael and I live. When I was talking too long with Suzanne according to Rafael, Rafael kissed and hugged me to indicate that we should move on.
This morning though Rafael did not want to move on from drinking the blend of Ethiopian and Indian coffee we purchased from Suzanne.
Rafael and I enjoy going out to a variety of public places. I think if I looked into it I would find African and Native American nomad blood in our heritage.
People with autism enjoy living fully even with social and communication challenges. Rafael has autism. Sometimes he has crying spells. He cannot explain why he cries. Some have tried to tell me that people with autism cry sometimes for no reason. I think just because we don't know the reason does not mean that a reason(s) do not exist.
The movie Ocean Heaven is about a single father who has liver cancer and his son who has autism. Dad, Mr. Wang played by actor Jet Li, can't figure out why his son would walk off to a McDonald's and lay his head on a statue of Ronald McDonald. Unknown to dad, his son, Dafu played by actor Wen Zhang, met a girl who is a traveling acrobat who dresses similar to Ronald McDonald for her job. During her stay in town, Dafu and Lingling become friends. When Lingling has to leave town because of her traveling acrobat job, the friends are separated. Dafu is laying his head on Ronald McDonald because he misses Lingling.
It doesn't take long for people to attach to other people. Rafael and I were inspired by a sermon on Sunday from Dr. Samuel R. Chand at Grace church in Dumfries, Virginia. Dr. Chand is from India and now lives in America. When one of his daughters named Rachel was pregnant, Rachel and her husband named the baby Jude. Dr. Chand was so excited about Jude that he talked to Jude and laid hands on Rachel's belly to pray for her and Jude.
When it was time for Jude to leave his womb home, Rachel went to the hospital. But Jude's heart stopped beating, and he died.
Jude hadn't even lived one year, but his grandfather, Dr. Chand, was attached to Jude. When Jude died, Dr. Chand cried a lot and not always tiny tears sometimes heaving tears.
In Genesis chapter 2 God said it is not good for man to be alone. This doesn't just mean that women and men will desire to get married, it also means that God created us with a desire to be in a variety of human relationships. People with autism and other people are not exempt from being made with a desire for a variety of human relationships.
God has also created us male and female. We are conceived in sexuality, and we desire sexuality from the beginning. From the time I could talk I had questions about sex, but adults didn't like to talk to me about sex.
God made sex. What God makes is good. God talks about sex in His Bible with love and respect. God is not tense or out of balance when discussing sex. Creyentes (believers) should imitate God.
What are some ways you have been surprised at the depth and breath of desire for human relationships? Write to:
Michele F. Jackson
P. O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, Virginia 22195
Follow Michele F. Jackson on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/michelelove30.
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