It's Making A Difference

Today I went to my daughters highschool to check her out. While I was waiting, a former client of mine walked in. I hadn't seen her in years. She spoke and told me that her son attended school there. I was a home visitor for the family. One of the my job duties was to provide activities that encouraged child development for the child or children in the family. I remember when I first started visiting the family, the child would interact with me but would not speak. At first I thought he was shy and needed to get use to me and then I began to wonder if something else was going on and I voiced my concerns with his mom. She told me that he talked and actually had a decent vocabulary. I gave it a few more weeks and then I told the mom that I felt like he might do better with another home visitor because he still wasn't talking to me and I wanted him to get the most out of the visits. She then shared that her son had been diagnosed with selective mutism and there were very few people that he talked to. I guess she had been apprehensive about sharing it with me before. She assured me that he loved me and that on the days he knew I was coming he would be excited and sit in the window looking out until I came. It took a long time for him to start talking to me but he eventually did. Today when I saw the mother she told me that he was now seventeen years old. He was four when I stopped visiting him and he transitioned to school. His mom said that back then he was upset when he realized that going to school meant I would no longer visit him. When my daughter came to the front lobby and I introduced her to the two of them to each other the mother told me that she wanted me to see her son and that he would be glad to see me. I thought to myself "he is not going to remember me" but I waited anyway just to be able to see him after all of that time. When he came out she said there's Ms. Pinkerton and he smiled. It was the same smile that I remembered but he was now a young man. She said I told her you remembered her and I asked him if he did and he replied "yes, you brought the trains for me to play with". It was and emotional moment. I realized that he indeed remembered me; the impact that I made on him, and most of all hearing him speaking without hesitation. I thought on it off and on for the rest of the day and got emotional and teary eyed several times. I had been questioning alot of things lately. I knew that I was suppose to teach and do the work that I did but I had started to have second thoughts and wondeing if I should have taken another path. If I had taken another path and just did what I thought would be best for me instead of doing what God wanted me to do I would have missed many assignments along the way and would not have impacted the lives that I impacted and they wouldn't have impacted me. Be encouraged,know that your labor is not in vain, that you are making a difference, and that you didn't miss anything! God is well able to accelerate you into more than you could even imagine. I pray that he blesses you for your faithfulness and shows you the fruit of your obedience. 1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. Phillipians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.