Evil exists.
Scroll for two minutes and you’ll see it all around us.
But good exists too. April is National Autism Month and this young man has lots of autistic-like qualities. He’s nonverbal, he doesn’t like crowds, he avoids eye contact and he prefers Paw Patrol to most people.
But I’ve learned a thing or two from him.
Lovence lives completely in the moment. Whether he’s giggling at Paw Patrol or smashing his cars into one another on the windowsill or (very seriously) grabbing his backpack and getting on to the bus, he breathes it in and lives it fully. He could care less what happened yesterday. He has no worries about tomorrow.
He hugs with his whole body. He is most grateful when I’m getting him food. For a boy who nearly starved to death, it makes a whole lot of sense. But he’ll grab the bread, pull out the turkey, snag the mayo and put them on the counter. When I head that way, he will hug me close, wrapping not only both his arms, but one of his legs as he hooks his foot around mine. “Thanks so much, Mom” he says with his warmth. Lovence doesn’t hug often, but when he does, he means it.
Lovence is okay with trying and not getting it right. And it doesn’t faze him in the least. He trusts us to care for him. He knows he sometimes gets his shirt backwards or his pants on the wrong leg or his shoe on the wrong foot. He doesn’t hang his head or feel embarrassed. He just lets us fix it and he moves on. I imagine him shrugging, “Hey, I gave it a shot!”Lovence loves his people. Whether it’s pointing to Brian’s pic when he’s on a trip or oohing and ahhing at basketball games for Wilna and Laurentz or watching carefully as Savannah does cheer, he loves them. He even keeps an eye out for his Oma, making sure she gets safely from point A to point B. The other day I hit my arm on a bannister and held my elbow as I yelped. He made a grunt and watched me closely. He rubbed my shoulder. My pain was his. “You good?” His kindness said. I nodded and hugged him. I’m good.
Yes, there’s evil out there. But right under our noses, there’s good. There are lessons. There’s a right leg hooking around our own. So maybe, like Lovence, in honor of National Autism Month, we should give his way a chance – live in the moment, stay grateful and hug with all you have, give things a try and love your people.
And maybe all that evil will fade just a bit…