I saw the elelphant man today, or rather I should say the elephant child…and cried.  I didn’t cry on the outside, for I was with my son on a field trip when I saw him, but I did cry on the inside, and, I counted my blessings.            

       I did not notice the poor child till farther into the farm tour; I think it was when the kids were waiting to feed the goats.  I was looking around at the huge farm; pigs on my left, goats in front, a big open field to the right and a pumpkin patch behind.  As I turned to my right, I noticed a fairly tall caucasian child, dressed in a red shirt with kakhi pants (Louisiana Parish students are required to wear uniforms) and some dingy white sneakers.  But what really caught my eye was the big bulge coming out of the left side of his face.  Our eyes met for a moment, and then he quickly looked away.  I want to cry just thinking about it.  In that instant I thought, You poor thing…”  I didn’t have much time to ponder this misfortune of his, because we had to keep moving on; we were on a tight  schedule.  Looking back on it now, my thoughts turn to the boy’s mother.  She must really be a special person, for I believe that God places children like this boy with moms who are his very special daughters, because He knows that they will take good care of his special children. 

       I admit, I am not that special daughter who could be a mother to a special child as that.  Though, I have been challenged in a different way; He saw that I was good enough to take care of his spirit child Riley and his diabetes.  I thought my life was going to be difficult after he was diagnosed five months ago; it has changed some, but it’s nothing that I don’t feel I can’t handle.  It is nothing compared to this mother who had been given the motherly task of taking care of this child I had encountered on this Pre-K trip.  It is nothing compared to the  anguish that she must go through day after day about her son having that kind of deformity.  It is nothing compared to the anger she must feel or has felt toward God, and feeling as if He doesn’t love her.  It is nothing compared to this mother’s tumultuous life. 

       Riley will be okay; he can and will be able to do anything he wants; the sky is the limit for him.  But for this other boy the sky is not the limit, if not physically then socially, for in many ways this is a cruel world (but that’s another story).  I commend this mother for accepting this heavenly task, saying “You can count on me God, I won’t let you down.”  And, at the same time…I count my blessings.  I count them, because God spared me the pain and anguish of having to be a special mother like that.